Mass Effect Restoration
by court.von.D
Summary: A strange lead on possible Cerberus brings the old Normandy crew back to Noveria. They found more than they could have hoped or imagined. (Post-synthesis; FemShep/Liara, Miranda/Jack, EDI/Joker)
1. Chapter 1

The air was thin, brittle, biting. Chips of ice and snow whipped around five figures crawling across a field of half-collapsed building. Jack kicked absently at a scorched, broken slab of concrete. "Shit, Blue. Glad I wasn't around when you guys came here the first time," she said, picking her way carefully through the debris of half the building. "I hate the cold."

"Only because you have to cover up," Miranda's voice smiled over the comm line. Her sleek figure several paces ahead turned.

"Makes sense as to why you would hate it too, then," Jack countered, grinning to herself.

"Jack, Miranda," a smooth voice cut in. "It is shown flirtatious banter is best received in more private circumstances."

"Says _them_!" Jack laughed.

"Miranda's suit readings are suggesting—"

"_Okay_," Miranda snapped. "Thanks, Edi. Glad you can still keep up with our tech but that's enough for now."

Liara and Garrus chuckled.

"Still got it, Edi," Garrus waved across the debris field with his sniper rifle. "How much further?"

Edi's figure stopped and pulled up an omni-tool. In the months after The War, she had slowly turned more human than machine. Her skin was delicately pale and her hair, after much frustration in the morning, curled at her shoulders in blonde locks. Her eyes were still brilliantly green, a piercing reminder to everyone of Shepard's sacrifice. Their pulsing green synthesis lines had faded, and eventually their irises held only the faintest green glow around the edges, but Edi's were still as brilliant as the day she had hugged Liara and felt…_felt_ the sorrow crushing her chest, staring at Shepard's name on the Normandy memorial wall. "I'm uncertain. Technically, this was the holding base for Peak 9."

Miranda stopped on a plane of jutting concrete and rock and put a hand on her hip.

Jack plopped down on a rock near Miranda. "Any way you could reach your contact, Edi?"

The dry, scraping sound of concrete moving against concrete filled the air and pebbles rushed down a rapidly ascending grey slab. "Squishies beware!" Grunt howled, giving a final shove. Miranda took a lazy step to the left and the concrete's fall blasted her and Jack with grey dust and ice chips. "Found something!" he cheered triumphantly.

"What is it?" Edi looked back.

His claw extended upward, holding a metal, intricate model of an Alliance Dreadnought. "Thought you might…" he ungracefully clambered from the hole and shuffled to Liara. "You know. Two years is coming up. Shepard did like the damn things. Never understood her."

Liara smiled and took the model. Its left wing was twisted and there were scorch marks licking along the left side. She put a hand on his shoulder plate. "Thank you," she smiled.

Garrus started laughing. "Liara, do you remember when she dragged us all over the Citadel because she heard there was a sale on some of those things?"

Liara giggled. "And we got lost in the lower Zakera Wards?"

"And she refused to ask for directions!"

"Garrus," Liara grinned and looked up. "That was you."

"What?" he crossed his arms. "I never."

"What were the words…" Liara looked upward. " 'I'm former C-Sec, I know this place like the back of my hand, Shepard. Trust me.' And she did," her eyes betrayed the sudden, aching pain of loss coursing through her body. "Followed you around for three hours before she told me to sneak off and ask directions."

"That woman!" Garrus threw his claws up. "Can't let me have my glory!"

"It's alright, that was when we finally found the sale," Liara tucked the model away in the medical supply kit at her back. "I got lucky on which store to duck into."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who was dragged on a ship hunt," Miranda dropped down into the hole Grunt had recently left, inspecting the sides. "Said the Citadel was 'on the way' from Illium to the Veil," she laughed slightly. "I think it was correlated directly with how much money she'd hacked from Eclipse's systems when we were recruiting Samara."

Liara giggled. "Did you know she came to show me those?"

Jack straightened. "What, those stupid things we got when we were on the Citadel, after we got Samara on board?"

Liara nodded and looked to the woman, her tattoos covered by the white armor. "Do you still have it?"

Jack ran a gloved hand over her helmet. "Of course I do," she said quietly. "Threw the fucking thing at her head, first…then I guess it sort of grew on me."

Miranda shook her head. "I tried so hard to put my foot down at the shop," her smile was creeping into her words again. "But you know when she looked at you with that look…the one where you wished you weren't asking her to save the galaxy…" she paused. "She was like a kid at a damn candy store. Should have seen the way she threw her hands up and ran into the place like there was some Collector ass to kick."

"She appreciated that," Liara wished her words weren't being sent to everyone on the comm link. She wanted to sit down with each of them and tell them how Shepard had been so secretly glad they'd begrudgingly gone on her model ship hunts. She would have to do that later.

"I am picking up something," Edi interrupted, her omni-tool scanning at the left side of the hole. "I do not know if it is my contact, but it's the best shot we have."

Edi was still working on her contractions.

Grunt gave a small hop and pounded his fists together. "Look out!"

Miranda helped Edi from the hole just in time for Grunt to go charging down.

"I…am…KROGAN!" he slammed into the wall with a metallic clang and staggered backwards for a moment. Dirt, ice, and rock were shaken from a metal door frame with a fine indentation of a Krogan. A red hologram popped up to show it was sealed. "Ouch," Grunt put a hand to his head. "Don't like that much."

Miranda looked to Liara. "Any blueprints on file from your network?"

She typed several things in on her omni-tool. "No, nothing. I wasn't aware there was an underground in Peak 9. I only thought there were a few, including 15."

Jack shook her head. "Don't like the sound of that. Come on, let's find another way. Can't just be that one door," she gave Grunt a hearty slap on the back as he stepped past, grumbling.

Garrus and Liara were leading the way with Edi. The blonde haired woman checked her omni again and sighed. "I do not understand," she muttered. "It shows communications are online but personnel are refusing to answer."

"Don't want to…" Liara raised an eyebrow.

"Or can't," Garrus finished. "When we find that entrance, we go in ready."

Edi nodded. "Liara, Jack, and I could stay near the entrance to prevent ambush from behind. Any squad configuration in this circumstance would not be unbeneficial."

Garrus grinned. "Hm. Not bad, Edi. I see you've learned from the best."

"Yes, Garrus," her mouth twitched upward, "I am glad you introduced me to your Primarch."

"Spirits!" Garrus nudged her with his elbow. "Your jokes never got any better with the funny green flash, did they?"

Edi shook her head and a blast of wind pushed against them all.

"Edi, what was so important about this?" Liara asked absently as they ducked beneath a fallen pillar into sudden stillness from the wind. Cold, frosting steel pipes against the concrete walls. Yes, it was Noveria all right. She pulled off her helmet and the rest of the squad followed suit as soon as they were in the un-collapsed hall. Their breath steamed out in white-grey.

"Possible Cerberus remnant," Miranda answered, sitting on a stone slab. "We didn't want to bother you with your network being caught up with all the search and rescue and rebuilding efforts."

"What?" Liara put her hands on her hips. "What do you mean?"  
"It was only a few months after the end of The War," Jack stepped forward. "We knew you were busy with the rebuilding and monitoring the Reapers to make sure they didn't turn against us again, so we kept an eye on a few things."

"I thought I told you to come to me with anything you deemed necessary!" Liara shifted her weight and crossed her arms, too flustered to know what to do with her body. "I would have listened!"

"We came to you when we did deem it necessary," Edi cut in, her voice calming her slightly.

Liara whirled to the Turian. "Garrus?" she demanded. "Were you in on this?"

He put up his arms. "Sorry, T'Soni, they were right about something. You didn't need more fighting clawing for your attention just yet. We waited. A lot of the Cerberus leads wound up dead in the water. This one was the only one that seemed to be picking up after a while."

"Grunt?" she pointed to him.

"I didn't know," he shrugged heavily and a smile creased his features. "If they woulda' told me I couldn't, I woulda' told you just because. Heh heh."

"I'm glad someone is on my side!" she took two long strides over to him and planted her foot.

"Krogan stick together," Grunt joked, pushing her off balance with a hefty hand.

"Dammit," Jack looked between Garrus, Edi, and Miranda. "You'd just lost Shepard, Blue. We were scared about what it was doing to you. Sure, you pulled through, but shit! You should have seen yourself after that fucking memorial!" she scratched at her long-haired Mohawk. Her boots scraped the ground as she started to pace. "Wouldn't come eat for almost a week…told us because you were busy…we weren't fucking stupid, Blue," she raised an eyebrow. "We wanted to be that bad ass squad Shepard always counted on, going and fighting bad guys, but we realized…she would be counting on us to take care of your ass. We've done enough for everyone but our own. Time to look out for _our _fucking family now."

Liara's anger had fizzled with the sincere profanity. Her hands fell to her sides and she sighed. "You're right," she looked up again, unshed tears in her eyes. "Thank you."

"Don't go getting soft on me now," Jack punched her arm and grinned as she winced and rubbed it. "But you're welcome," she grabbed her in a quick, rough hug. "Now where the fuck is the back door?" she shouted, starting to roam to the corners of the hall with Grunt and Garrus, kicking at loose tiles.

Liara grinned at Miranda. "I'm not sure how you deal with the… capriciousness of her."

The ex-Cerberus woman watched Jack give Grunt a head-butt. "It grows on you. Any ideas before they kick holes in their boots?" she looked between Edi and Liara.

Liara pulled up the known blueprints and Edi scanned them with her quick eyes.

"Structural integrity points to possible—"

"Krogan one, metal doors zero!" Garrus cheered from across the room.

The women huddled around Liara's omni looked up.

"Well, technically it's one to one, now," Jack laughed, peering down a dark hall. A metal door swung haphazardly from its hinges behind a crumbled stone wall.

"Yeah, well the other one cheated," Grunt's gravelly voice countered. "Edi? Liara? Miranda?" he called. "Gonna' get on this today?"

"Yes," Edi rushed, jogging over. It had been awkward, growing used to the real body proportions of feet and combat boots. "I believe it would be wise to keep a team behind to guard from ambush."

"Your call," Garrus nodded to her.

Edi flushed. She wasn't used to making calls, and yet there she was, five pairs of eyes looking at her expectantly. How did Shepard do it? All those times, all those eyes… "Well, Liara has the medical kit. It is unknown if anyone is hurt. It would be wise to send her in."

"We all have some medigel," Jack offered.

Edi put her armored hand to her chin. "True, but if there are broken bones that need to be set, Liara would know best."

Miranda nodded. "I'm limited to human physiology mostly."

"Yes she is," Jack grinned crookedly and Miranda rolled her eyes. "Just keeping them on their toes," she smiled and put her hand on her shoulder briefly.

Liara felt another sharp stab of loss deep in her gut. The simplest gesture she couldn't have. Shepard's arms circling around her waist from behind, surprising her from the numbers on her computer screen. She missed that; Shepard's warmth against her back. How she would blabber on about anything but The War. Her model ships, the new aquarium VI she'd bought so she wouldn't keep killing her poor fish, how she wished she could find a damn space hamster, except the shop she'd gotten one from a year before had closed. She should have listened more, let Shepard simply exist outside The War for a few moments. She'd been so busy. So busy. So much data, so many resources, so many different places plying for her attention; the Crucible and then the Catalyst—the elusive, shifting shadow that had dominated her thoughts…

"Blue! Fuck—Liara! C'mon!"

Liara blinked several times to Jack's rough shaking of her shoulders. "What?"

"Dammit, Liara, we hate when you go off into fucking mind space like that," Jack sat back on her heels and Liara noticed they were on the floor. Jack took the blue face into her hands and stared at her eyes for a moment. "Miranda, Edi, take care of her, alright? Me, Garrus, and Grunt will go see what's going on in there," she stood up and pulled on her helmet, walking between her two appointed teammates. "C'mon, what am I paying you two for?" she whacked them both on the shoulder before pulling a submachine gun from her hip. "It ain't for lookin' pretty."

"You pay _me_ to look pretty," Garrus protested, sighting down his rifle.

"Heh. Heh."

Jack suppressed a laugh and started down the tunnel. "Either of you two beauties die on me, I will bring you back just to kill you myself."

"Now Jack, how dare you treat your best model that way?"

"What? Just because I gave Blue the 'we're family' talk back there, you think I like you?"

"Heh heh. I think you do."

"Ah, fuck off."

"Such a dear."

"Heh heh heh."

Miranda helped Liara onto a low slab of concrete and Edi checked her omni, listening to faint voices from their helmets sitting near them.

"Vital signs stabilizing," she nodded and the orange glow faded, leaving the three in semi-darkness.

"Does that happen often?" Liara looked between the two.

"Not as much," Miranda laced her fingers together. "In the first few months after the memorial…"

"And in the weeks on the Normandy after our emergency landing on Niacal," Edi added. "It was frequent. As were your nightmares."

Liara rubbed her hands over her face.

"Are you still having them?" Miranda asked.

The Asari gave a weak nod.

The beam. The truck. The explosion. Shepard's hand against her face. The last she would ever see of her eyes, the ones she had smiled down upon just a few nights earlier, before the Cronos station. Shepard's incinerating features in a blast of light…

She forced her eyes open and focused on the cold ground.

"…could be good for you."

"Sorry," Liara blinked and looked at Edi. "What?"

"I have a memory," she offered, somewhat sheepishly. "It is from when we had our shore leave and ran into Shepard's clone. Well, after that, but from that time. I believe Shepard would approve of your seeing it. It could be good for you."

"It's your memory," Liara put her hand over Edi's. "Don't feel obligated to—"

"I would like to share it with you. Since the synthesis, I can synchronize certain neural synapses to your nervous system as well."

"You can meld?" Miranda raised an eyebrow. "Did that happen to all synthetics? All people?"

"So far, I am the only one I have met. My research indicates that perhaps Legion could have shared this trait…and so maybe some of the Geth have discovered it as well, but that is a guess," Edi looked to Liara. "May I share it with you?"

She smiled and nodded slightly.

_"Thanks, EDI. I'll take that to heart…who's next?"_

_ EDI shifted and put her elbows on the counter. "I was thinking of something for Liara. I know she means a great deal to you, so I thought perhaps you could get her something as well."_

_ "I don't know," Shepard rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm not very good at picking things out."_

_ "What is the saying? It is the thought that counts?"_

_ The woman smiled. "Want to know what I wish I could get her most?"_

_ EDI waited patiently as the commander shifted her weight and looked out the window._

_ "Something I promised her back on Hagalaz…" she grinned and looked at EDI. "I'm sure your logs have that conversation in there somewhere."_

_ "Marriage, old age, and a bunch of little blue children?"_

_ Shepard nodded, then started laughing. "Could you imagine that? Mini me's running around? What would I do if one scraped a knee? Medigel isn't good until you hit enlisting age. I'd be ruined!"_

_ "The galaxy wouldn't make it that long."_

_ The commander gave her a comical glare. "It's a good thing I like you."_

_ "Perhaps I could get Liara a ring as well. You could match."_

_ Shepard smiled. "Only if I get to be there when you give it to her."_

_ EDI must have had a quizzical look on her chrome features._

_ "Don't want her marrying you! I've got dibs!" she crossed her arms and smiled. "What do you think?"_

_ "Asari live many times longer than the average human," EDI spouted off without thinking to filter her information._

_ The statement of the obvious seemed to wound Shepard slightly. "Yeah, I guess you're right."_

_ EDI reached out and took her hand without completely knowing why. "Liara would treasure her moments with you."_

_ "I hope so," the woman sighed and scratched at her nose. "I know every time I get her to myself for a spare minute, I feel like maybe there are still things worth fighting for."_

_ Shepard paced to the window and stared at the glowing signs outside for a moment before EDI joined her._

_ "And Shepard?"_

_ "Hm?"_

_ "Your little blue children would be adorable."_

_ "Yeah, well," Shepard grinned. "They'd take after their mother."_

Edi blinked and Liara looked away, tears shining in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Liara," she said. "I thought—"

"Thank you, Edi," she interrupted. "I just wish I had…more time."

Edi nodded. "Would you like to hear a joke?"

Miranda giggled. "I see your comedic timing has still not improved after two years of being an organi…well, whatever we are now."

Edi smiled. "Some things cannot change."

Liara gave a weary smile. "Yes, Edi. Let's hear your joke."

"Very well! There is a penguin driving across Arizona…"

/

"I wonder why rebuilding efforts haven't started here yet," Garrus pondered into the comm.

"It's a frozen piece of planet shit," Jack snorted. "Who cares?"

"But frozen shit with lots of research," Grunt's voice added. "Important stuff, right?"

"Mmm…" Garrus sidled up to a wall near a T branch-off and nodded to Jack, who swung into the open, flanked by Grunt, and he looked down the hall behind them. "Depends on your definition of important."

"Shepard let the Rachni go here," the Krogan said.

"Yeah, a few peaks to the north," Garrus nodded. "Always was one to save who she could. Hey, Lawson? Edi? Liara? Any idea on where to go?"

"Killed her off to save Arlakh Company," Grunt's voice lowered in reverence. "Back in the caves…"

"Yes," Garrus sighed and looked down both halls.

"Damn," Jack muttered.

"Cried for a few hours after that," Garrus admitted. "I was going to go ask Liara if she could find me a special Shadowy deal on a new scope and I heard Shepard in there…she…made some tough calls over a couple very short years."

"Wish she had a chance to make some nice ones," Jack put her hands on her hips. "Like settling down on some stupid rock and having that stupid family with Blue. She deserved that. Build up her stupid model ship collection. Hell, I would even buy her some."

"Thank you Jack," Liara's voice sounded in their helmets.

"Shit. You weren't supposed to hear my bullshit nostalgia. Which way, Blue?"

"The hall to the east shows an area encountering more interference. Possibly a reinforced hall. Be careful, there is a downward grade."

"Thanks, T'Soni," Garrus started ahead.

Their echoing footsteps filled the dead space until they reached a metal door.

"Hey," Grunt pressed a giant finger to his helmet. "I like running into things, but this isn't sealed yet."

"I will be there shortly," Edi sounded. "Miranda and Liara can hold the entrance."

"Copy that," Garrus leaned against the smooth metal. They stood, staring at the door for several minutes. "Bets on what we find?" Garrus finally asked, wishing to break the cold silence.

"Enemies!" Grunt pounded his fists together.

Jack shrugged. "I'm saying some dead Cerberus bastards."

"It doesn't make sense though. This place is abandoned. All our leads pointed to here as a central hub," Garrus wished he could scratch under his helmet. "Maybe we should have asked Liara to take a look first."

"Traynor checked it out. Doesn't get much more official than that," Jack said, examining the door. "If this isn't the place, then it'll lead us to it."

"If I didn't know better," Garrus grinned, "I'd say you're getting soft in your old age. Actually starting to care about people."

"I blame my students. Tough little fuckers. Taught me a few things out there during The War."

"Lawson have anything to do with it?" Garrus pushed.

He was astounded when her tone softened and her helmet shifted toward him slightly. He could see a smile through the visor. "Yeah. Guess she did."

"I secretly implanted a control chip," the accent chirped.

"Fuck," Jack banged her helmet. "How the hell do we set these to private mode or something? Can't be all fucking sweet and shit if you're listening in! Defeats the purpose!"

"And there goes the moment," Garrus laughed. "Way to go, Lawson."

"I do what I can."

"Where's Edi?" Grunt asked. "She's quick and the way was clear. Should be down here by now."

"Yeah, what the hell, Blondie?" Jack pushed down the feeling that the tunnel wasn't as empty as it had seemed, waiting for Edi's melodic, if still somewhat AI-sounding voice to sound off to them. "Edi?"

"Edi, sound off," Garrus barked, straightening. Jack and Grunt flanked him as they started back the way they came. "Shit."

"Shit? Shit doesn't even start to cover it, Vakarian," Jack checked her gun, felt her heart beginning to hammer against her sternum. "Miranda?"

"I've…I've got nothing….Jack, I've got nothing! It's like her omni was just scrubbed from existence!"

"Dammit—hold it together, Miri," she said. "We'll find her. Keep your eyes up out there. Knew it was too fucking quiet."

"Lawson, T'Soni, in the tunnel entrance far enough to stay out of sight from the door," Garrus ordered. "Should be able to see the T-intersection further down the hall. I'll give you a count for when we pass."

"Right," Liara's voice became somewhat confined, meaning they were slipping on their helmets. "Okay…we're in and far enough away from the tunnel entrance."

"Watching the intersection," Miranda added.

"Three of the best looking people you'll ever see in three…two…" the three broke cover from behind the wall and Jack raised her gun cheerfully.

"Grunt?" Garrus nodded to him. "Stay with them."

He frowned.

"Don't you give me your varren puppy eyes," Jack poked his chest. "We find Edi, we want a way back out. To get out, we don't want this fucking tomb crawling with Cerberus."

Grunt sighed. "I guess so. Be careful."

"Yeah?" Jack laughed. "We'll compare body counts back on the ship over some drinks and poker. And look out for my girl over there…" she nodded to Miranda. "Don't let her chip a nail or anything."

"I heard that."

"Good," Jack and Garrus continued moving forward, leaving Grunt to guard their backs and Miranda and Liara watching the entrance.

"You know," Garrus whispered through the comm line, "if something happened to Edi…Joker would kill us all."

"You fucking kidding me? He'd have to get in line," Jack didn't want the fear to creep into her words. Edi was important to all of them. A symbol of what Shepard stood for. Unity, peace.

"Nothing is going to happen to Edi," Liara's voice was steely over the line. Garrus could nearly believe that she would stop anything by sheer willpower alone for a moment. "Remember to check your fire."

"How are your shields and barrier?" Miranda asked. "Since she's off the line, you may have to take your helmets off."

"You insult me," Garrus joked, pulling his off and snapping Jack's to the back of her suit before she did the same for him. He pressed a finger to his ear. "Always good. Going by manually opened comm line now."

"Copy that," Miranda said. "And stay…God, what did Shepard say that we laughed at her so hard we almost got ourselves shot in the ass?" she giggled.

"Stay frosty," Garrus grinned.

"Right. Copy that. Stay frosty."

Liara looked over to her friend and smiled. "It sounds no less ridiculous, even now."

"Ah, and wasn't that Shepard's strong point? I mean she did flush a full grown tank-bred Krogan on a frigate…and then woke up a Geth."

Grunt gave a low, gurgled giggle. "She was crazy."

Liara looked toward the entrance. "The best kind."

/

"Looks like we've got some sort of branch off," Jack pressed her fingers to her ear. "Blue? Miranda?"

Garrus attempted to peer through the inky black to their right and before them. "C'mon guys, don't leave us hanging here."

"Shit," Jack kicked the wall. "When did we lose our signal?"

"No idea. Haven't needed to contact them for a good fifteen minutes, I'd say."

"Well…double shit."

"Never were the brains of these things, were we?" he looked between the two halls again. "Want to close your eyes, spin around and point?"

"Well that way would lead further into the compound, wouldn't it?" Jack pointed to their right, sending a biotic shockwave down the tunnel. Nothing. She sent another down the hall in front of them. Nothing. "Anything worth finding would be to our three."

"Copy that," he nodded and they started forward.

"Gonna' call," Jack whispered. The Turian nodded his consent. "Edi?! Edi! C'mon, Blondie! Where the hell are you?"

"Edi!" Garrus chimed in. "Edi, get your ass out here, we should go!"

"Nothing on this rock! We'll have Traynor and Blue check our data back on the ship. We gotta' go!"

There was a faint glow at the end of the hall.

"Edi!" Garrus shouted, starting to run down the hall.

"Garrus! What the fuck…" Jack started after him, gun raised. He closed the gap between them and the light and slid to one side of the doorway, waiting for Jack to take cover opposite of him. She took a deep breath and nodded. They swung into the doorway, weapons up.

"Wait! Do not shoot!" Edi raised her hands quickly, standing in front of a metal table. There was someone on it. "I'm sorry I did not come back to report, but she needed immediate attention," she turned back to the figure on the table.

"What in the giant, fuck, Blondie?" Jack looked around the room and shook her head. It reminded her of something. She didn't want to remember. "Who…what the hell is that?"

It was a girl. Mostly. Young adult, with a sharp, sloping jaw and gaunt face, left side of her head shaved, the right side with jagged, uneven, shaggy black hair.

Her left arm was complete cybernetics. Metal rods around a bundle of cables ran down to several joints that would make an elbow. The cables disappeared under several armored plates at a forearm that ended in a robotic hand. Her left leg was similar under a cut-off pant leg; rods and cables, joints at the knee, and the plates started at her shin and continued down to a metal boot shape. Glowing orange completely encased her left hand and foot, and then bands across her torso and right limbs. "Thirteen," she said quietly. Her brown eyes flicked over. A metal plate was bolted to her left shoulder to begin the arm and another mid-thigh to begin her leg. A rash looked to be ending around the metal, and a dozen red, cybernetic lines crawled up her neck and around her ear, across her high cheekbone.

"I have applied medigel to a particularly nasty rash, and she has gained some form of consciousness," Edi looked to Jack. "However, she keeps repeating that number. I believe it is of importance. We need to get her proper medical attention, though. Medigel is mostly for open wounds."

Jack's eyes roved over the girl's organic, uncovered arm. Familiar scars. "What the fuck…"

The girl nodded in agreement.

Jack stepped forward and leaned down. "Who did this to you?"

Her eyes struggled to focus. "Vanguard. Thirteen."

"What?" Jack shook her head. "Let's get her out of here."

"Hold up," Garrus hoisted his rifle onto his shoulder. "This thing is confined because it's dangerous."

"Garrus, shut the fuck up," Jack barked, striding to a console. "I know Cerberus tests when I see them."

"You want another you on our ship? Jack, you were psychotic at best and the only reason you didn't kill us all was because we had Shepard."

"We'll figure it out," she snapped. "We aren't leaving her here. If it makes you feel better, maybe she has some good intel," she spat, hitting a few buttons. The orange shackles buzzed and released and the girl sat up, shakily got to her feet. "I'm Jack," she said cautiously. "That's Edi and this is Garrus. We're here to get you out."

The girl's eyes sharpened and her head snapped toward the door. "Incoming."

"Oh shit," Jack turned her gun to the door as they heard a familiar buzz behind them. The three friends looked back to see blue crawling up the girl's right arm. The forearm plating started sliding down in smooth clicks into a long blade, not unlike an omni-blade, but with two lethal points on either side of her hand.

"Jaaaack…." Garrus turned his rifle to her. "What did you do?"

"Move," the girl said quietly, her arms pulling backward.

The Turian looked over as Edi pulled to the side of the door.

"Garrus get out of the way!" Jack tackled him out of the doorway as the girl's arms shot forward and she left in a streak of biotic charge. "Holy…holy…"

The three darted out of the room toward the sound of confused shouting and connecting metal, following the blue streaks of light splashing against the wall.

The girl took a leap and slammed her arm to the ground. Garrus, Edi, and Jack watched as three other men exploded backward from the redirected biotic shield energy and their heads cracked sickeningly against the stone wall. She whirled to the last man, her blood-coated blade at his throat. A thick, slow drop pulled toward the ground.

"You've progressed well," the soldier seemed to rethink his attack. "Best responses we've seen."

The girl's organic hand clenched and a ball of lightning blue started curling around her fist, up her arm.

"You're a marvel, Thirteen."

"Are there more? Where are they?" she gritted out.

"No. No, not any more. They fulfilled their purpose and were no longer necessary. You, though…you…you are…"

"Monster," she muttered.

"You're calling me the monster?" he jeered. "Look at what you've just done."

Three decisive gunshots echoed and the man slumped in front of the girl.

She looked back to see Garrus reloading. "I didn't want to listen to some self-righteous monologue," he shrugged. "Sounded like that's where he was headed."

A crooked, unpracticed grin lit her face briefly before she turned forward again. "There are more. We should leave."

"Yeah, no need to tell me twice," Jack pushed her. "Let's go, kid."


	2. Chapter 2

"…ct the Normandy…Contact the Normandy! We've got hostiles coming in behind us! Start out! We'll catch up!"

Garrus' voice cut into Liara, Grunt, and Miranda's helmets.

Grunt gave a whoop and started to their position. "And miss out on a good fight?"

"Dammit, Grunt!" Miranda watched his headlamps disappear down the hall.

"Joker? We need extraction, sounds like Cortez may be coming in hot," Liara pulled a pistol from her hip.

"Copy that. Everyone okay?"

"Grunt met his match with a metal door earlier," Edi offered.

"It cheated!" he retaliated huffily.

"Good to know. Cortez is on the way with the shuttle. ETA to LZ three minutes."

"We'll be there," Miranda said, looking down the hall again. There was a biotic flare and she could see five figures. One was unfamiliar. "What the hell…who is with you?" she barked.

"A friend," Jack answered. "Gotta go! Make sure that building is clear so we don't bust out into fire!"

"Agreed," Miranda and Liara ran to the tunnel entrance and swung out, guns making a sweep of the empty interior. "Clear, now get Grunt to stop kicking ass and move his own."

"Fine," the Krogan muttered.

"Fucking shit!"

"Jack?" Miranda looked down to the floor. "Is everything okay?"

"You gotta' meet this kid!"

"That's the point, isn't it?" she grinned slightly. "Get out of there."

"Hostiles at our front!" Garrus shouted. There was the sharp bang of his rifle. "One less!"

Miranda started back to the tunnel.

"Miranda, what are you doing?" Liara turned.

"I've got flashbang grenades—have to keep hostiles in the tunnel!" she answered, still moving forward and pulling one from her belt.

Garrus and Jack rounded the corner, closely followed by Edi. The figure she didn't recognize stopped at the T intersection.

"Duck!" she shouted, heaving the grenade down the hall. The three slid onto their knees and the unfamiliar girl swung a blade, knocking it down the hall on Miranda's right. Miranda blinked several times as Grunt pushed past the girl and continued toward her with Jack, Edi and Garrus.

"One more!" the girl shouted. "Still coming from the right!"

Miranda's left. She activated another and threw it straight to her. Her metal blade swished and knocked it down the hall and she continued forward with an odd beat to her step.

Step chink step chink step chink…

"We can gawk later, Miri!" Jack was suddenly pulling her elbow, pushing her to the door. "We need to seal the door."

Garrus was already to the entrance, hurrying them out. "Let's go, people! Leisurely stroll is over!" He yanked Edi from the mouth and Grunt exploded past with a gleeful giggle.

Jack and Miranda turned in time to see a flare against the back wall.

"Rocket!" several voices chorused to the girl still sprinting down the length.

She turned and jumped, a flash of blue spreading in front of her, encasing the rocket. She seemed suspended in midair for a moment as the momentum shoved her out the door. She landed on the concrete floor with a thud and metal clatter before her arm pushed back, sending the rocket back into the tunnel.

"Seal the door!" Grunt managed to cut through everyone's shock.

"It's broken!" Garrus looked over at him as they started for where they'd entered. "Wonder whose bright idea that was?"

"You bet that I couldn't open it!" Grunt answered, bracing himself under the stone pillar they'd entered under and lifting it slightly. "Your fault!"

"Actually, the betting was Jack's idea," he countered as they slipped out and Grunt let the piece fall behind him. "Blame her."

Ice and snow blasted their armor once again.

"What? Hell, this is not my fault!"

"Perhaps we should argue back on the Normandy," Edi jumped over a piece of twisted, jagged metal. A bullet ricocheted near her foot. She stopped and turned, pistol drawn. "Which one?!" she shouted. "I just ordered these boots and I will _not_ have them torn up on their first trip out!"

After a few well-timed head shots, Miranda caught up and pulled her forward.

"What happened to back on the Normandy?" she laughed as they continued frantically running, scrambling, and shooting across the no-man's-land of concrete and metal.

"They almost made it personal," she said. "Now whose idea was it? They almost clipped my boots. Kassa Fabrication is not cheap!"

"Edi!" Liara shouted, though amusement was evident in her voice. "Really?"

"There's the shuttle!" Grunt announced.

There was a familiar fizz and 'thwump'.

"Rocket!" Garrus shouted. The six Normandy crew members dove to the ground and the girl stopped and turned, planted her feet as if she were about to charge somewhere.

"Holy shit…" Jack looked over. "Here she goes again."

Her organic arm shot out and a bolt of blue rushed to meet the incoming explosive. The momentum shoved her backward, but she kept her balance, teeth bared, as rock and snow billowed up around her. She stamped her left foot and the shin guards unfolded into blades, kept unfolding to dig into the ground and stop her sliding.

Miranda looked back to the dozens of hostiles. They seemed dazed for a split second. Who was this kid?

She straightened, then shoved back. The rocket went flying toward them.

"Our chariot awaits, my ladies!" Garrus said, pulling Liara and Miranda up on his way by.

"Hey!" Grunt shouted.

"I meant you too, princess!" he called.

Edi jumped to clear a high slab of concrete blocking her path, but a rocket slammed into a pillar next to her. She looked up as it started toppling toward her.

Pain lanced up her back, reverberating through her entire core with a flash of blue. She blinked and realized she was at the shuttle, the girl panting beside her.

"Sorry, little crude, but couldn't let you get squished," she said as the others piled into the shuttle. Edi stepped in and looked back, held out her hand. "Are you taking me with you?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Get your ass in here!" Jack shouted, submachine gun spraying from the door.

The girl took Edi's hand and jumped in. The door slammed shut.

"That was a little too close," Liara sighed after they had pulled off their helmets, sitting and leaning her head against the shuttle wall.

"Everyone okay?" Joker's face popped up on the screen at the back of the shuttle. "Edi, did…what the hell is that?" his gaze fixed on the girl they had picked up.

"Hey," Jack barked. "She just saved your girlfriend's ass out there."

"Do you have a name?" Miranda asked, looking warily at the blade still extended.

She shook her head and the blade withdrew back into forearm plating. The blades at her shins had pulled up after her rocket redirection and looked like lethal wings. They slowly slid and clicked back into place. "They called me Thirteen."

"Charming," Joker said.

"That's enough out of you," Jack reached out and shut off the screen.

"Were you…" Edi fidgeted with her hands. "Were you the experiment my contact was speaking about?"

Thirteen blinked several times and shook her head, as if trying to process the information. "What?" After the simple shake of her head, she started shivering.

"We had a contact within the base. They said an experiment was having…" Edi stopped. "I am sorry."

Thirteen gave her crooked grin again. "You were a bot before The War, weren't you?"

"An unshackled AI, yes. I switched to a humanoid mobile platform during The War. After the synthesis, I gradually became more organic looking."

She nodded. "I can tell by the way you talk."

"What's that got to do with anything we asked?" Grunt cocked his head to the side.

"Give her a fucking minute, Grunt," Jack punched his arm.

"Are you alright?" Miranda looked to her uncovered arm. They had been in the exposure for just over three minutes. Her teeth were starting to chatter.

Thirteen looked between the faces. "Can I sit down?"

Liara motioned to the seat next to her. "Your shoulder looks infected."

The girl turned her head, trying to see where the plate and her skin connected. "Yeah, that was new…er."

Liara started digging through her medic bag.

"You seem familiar," Thirteen blinked slowly. "Do I know you?"

Liara smiled. "Have you ever met any other Asari? Sometimes we all look the same to people."

Thirteen shook her head seriously and put her fingers to her forehead. "Damn, I've got a hell of a headache."

"How long were you on the table?" Edi asked.

"I dunno…but I'm pretty hungry," she looked down at her stomach and her eyes, sleepy and unfocused, flicked to Edi. "I don't feel so hot."

"We should get her to medical as soon as we're on board," Liara said, scanning over her shoulder and chest with her omni tool.

"Vanguard. Thirteen. Charges four," Thirteen started muttering. "Shield redirect three."

"There she goes again," Garrus shifted the rifle in his grip. "Don't know about that."

"She's still probably doped from something they gave her," Jack said from leaning against the far wall. Miranda walked over and quietly laced her fingers through Jack's.

Thirteen attempted to stand but Liara prevented it with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"We can try that later," she said quietly. "For now, you can rest."

"There's something I'm supposed to tell you," she protested, attempting to focus on Liara's face. "I have to tell you something and it's important…"

"It can wait," she pushed back slightly, forcing Thirteen against the back of the seat.

"No, but…I know…" her eyes blinked furiously, attempting to stay lucid. "Something…I have to…it's…Vanguard…thirteen…"

"Yes, vanguard thirteen, we know," Liara put her hand against her forehead. A fever was burning through her, already heating her cooled skin. She stroked the shaggy hair lightly. "It'll be okay."

"No!" her eyes shot open and her eyes looked wildly around the shuttle. "Familiar!" she turned to Liara. "Said we had to find you…but they got me. All of you. I've seen you. Holos. Said to find you…to find…" she turned her head heavily to Liara. "You if we found them first."

"Who said you had to find me?"

"Had to…it was…ugh," her words were beginning to run together. She balled her shaking fists and put them against her forehead. "I don't feel good."

"Who said you had to find me?" Liara asked, more urgently.

Thirteen doubled over, coughing. Bright red spattered onto the floor. She stayed hunched over her legs and mumbled something.

Liara's blood turned to ice. "What?" she pulled Thirteen up by the shoulder, rougher than she intended. "What are you talking about?"

"Said to…something…" her eyelids were slowly drooping shut. Liara could feel the heat radiating from her skin. "Find them say…tell them…I should go…still says it…I…she said… said… should remember that…shore leave…" Thirteen's eyes closed and she fell against Liara. "Shepard…"

"Bloody hell," Miranda muttered, tightening her grip on Jack's hand.

"That's…" Edi stared at Thirteen's limp form. "Impossible."

Garrus laughed. "I'll be damned. Shepard won't up and die until she's damn well good and ready!"

"How much longer?" Liara shouted to Cortez, putting two fingers to Thirteen's neck, checking her pulse. Uneven, racing.

"Found you," she slurred. "Founja' all…"

"Thirty seconds. No need to purge atmosphere conditions, we're in breathable air here," he called back. "Chakwas is waiting. Williams is ready to assist, too."

"Did you tell them ah…" Liara glanced at the cybernetics. "The situation?"

"Yes, and we're patching in Tali in the med bay for possible pointers."

Edi nodded. "Good idea."

Liara looped Thirteen's arm around her neck and stood. Her limbs must have been a special metal. She felt no heavier than someone of her height and build would feel. Jack jumped over and pulled the robotic arm around her shoulders.

Thirteen's head bobbed slightly. "Shep…"

"We know," Liara whispered. "You told us. Good job. Now. You need to stay with us."

"Yeah, kid, gotta' compare Cerberus scars," Jack laughed, pain lancing through it. "Can't up and die on a fellow fucked-up soul now, can you?"

"Cerby…cerbs…" Thirteen's tongue sounded thick and she gave a drunken sounding half giggle. "Cerbzy cerby serssurrussss…"

"Yeah, that's right kid," Jack urged as the shuttle door opened. "Keep babbling. What about vanguard thirteen?"

"Vanguard…thirt…teeeeeeeen."

"Yep, that's right. Thirteen," Jack repeated as they started to the med bay.

"Hey!" she suddenly shouted. "Wha' happen to my arm!?"

"Oh my," Chakwas raised her eyebrows as they stepped onto the elevator. "Liara, did you give her anything on the shuttle?"

"I had nothing for infection."

"Give her something for loony," Ashley crossed her arms.

"My favorite arm!" Thirteen attempted to pull away from Jack, but she didn't let her.

"Fuck off, Williams," she snapped. "You have no idea if she even had that arm before those bastards got a hold of her."

Thirteen stopped struggling and looked over at Jack blankly as the elevator doors opened. "They took my arm? Where they put it?" she asked.

The two propelled her forward and into the med bay, onto a bed.

Chakwas slapped disinfectant onto her hands and nodded to Tali on the screen at her desk. "Tali? Any input?"

The helmet twitched down slightly and her fingers tapped at the side. "Looks like sloppy or neglected fusion work. If that's the case, you will need bone injections as fast as you can. Liara, Jack, you should probably step out. I will talk to you when this is done."

Liara stared at Thirteen's dazed face. "What did they do to her?" she whispered.

Jack pulled at her elbow. "Come on, Blue."

"Do you really think Shepard…" Liara stammered as soon as they were outside the room. The metal door closed and locked. "Do you…"

Jack sighed heavily. "I want to. I mean…only Shepard would tell someone to tell us 'I should go' to show us it's really her."

Liara looked down at her hands. She could hold her again. The thought made her queasy.

"Whoa…easy, Blue," Jack raised an eyebrow. "Gonna' hurl?"

Liara shook her head. "Shepard could…be…" she pressed her fingers to her eyes. "It's foolish of me to hope, isn't it?"

"Hell, Blue, if it gives you a little life in your eyes again, then hope until you turn fucking green."

Liara turned and smiled. "Shepard was always jealous of your talent with curse words."

"What?" Jack laughed.

"She said you use them so charismatically."

"It's good she never said that to my face. Probably would have knocked the crazy bitch out."

"Yes," Liara looked away, still grinning slightly. "Perhaps."

"You alright?"

"I…I'm just going to take a moment," she said, starting for the port observation room. "Come get me when we can go back in, would you?"

Jack nodded. "Sure."

/

Garrus looked toward the med bay from the stairs leading past the cryogenic compartments to the main battery. Jack was slouched in a chair at one of the mess tables, head over crossed arms. "Is everything alright down here? Heard that screaming from the battery."

Jack's shoulders moved in a shrugging motion. She had changed into jeans, boots, and a tattered, black no-sleeve shirt. "Hour and a half in there. She took bone injections fine…no idea what they're doing now."

"Well, if she's anything like you, she'll pull through alright," Garrus attempted to calm her. "They called Tali in?"

"She's on a vid link. I think she's still connected," she mumbled, looking up. "You want to know about Shepard too, don't you?"

Garrus took several strides over and sat across from her. "Who doesn't? Seems crazy…but it seems like Shepard. I just wonder why she didn't try to contact us directly. Or at least through Liara's network."

"Well, shit blowing up and going to pieces seems to follow her around. Why would this time be any different?" Jack offered a wry grin. "It'd have to be big to keep her from getting back to Blue as soon as humanly…ha…can we even say that? Possible."

Garrus nodded thoughtfully. "You've got a point…" he tilted his head slightly. "I know that face. What else is bothering you?"

"Dammit, I thought I was done with all that psych stuff after Chambers left," she turned away from his piercing gaze. "Guess I'll humor you anyway. We never expected Cerberus to just lay down and die, even after the Illusive Man went missing. But what the fuck were they doing?" she jabbed her thumb toward the med bay, and, as if on cue, there was a hoarse, tortured scream. "We figured out we were like…synthesized, right? Edi calls it that. So why were they…bolting on pieces? What did they want to figure out?"

"Do they ever have reasons?"

"Make an all-powerful biotic bitch," she murmured, putting her head in her hands. "That was pretty clear for me. But she has…restraint. A conscience. Cerberus wants to destroy those things."

Garrus' eyes seemed to widen slightly. "Control."

"Right…" Jack straightened. "Soldiers who never ask questions are their favorite kind."

"We must have interrupted," Garrus leaned back in his chair.

"How do you know?"

"Otherwise she would have killed us. Or…tried to. Before you go second-guessing yourself," he stood and pushed his chair in. "You did the right thing, getting her out of there. If nothing else, we have a little hope for the Commander. We have a shot in the dark."

"Never said I was second-guessing," Jack crossed her arms and propped her boots onto the table.

"You never would," he waved over his shoulder. "The Thanix is overdue for some maintenance."

"Thanix?" Jack called.

"Well," he turned. "Like you said. Shepard had a knack for things blowing up around her. Don't want to disappoint with the fire power on our end."

Jack let herself smile as he continued back to the main battery. Another scream ripped from the med bay and she couldn't stand it anymore. She stormed over to the door and pounded on it. "Doc! What the fuck!?" she yelled.

The door opened and an exhausted Chakwas met her gaze. "You can always go somewhere else."

"What are you doing?" Jack craned her neck to see Thirteen's weakly writhing body.

"There were implanted chips with self-destruct timers," she sighed. "We had to remove them."

"Couldn't you put her under?" her heavily tattooed hand waved to Thirteen.

"There was no time. But they're all finally out. She should be stabilizing within the hour. I suggest we set a course for the Citadel. Her biotic amps were fried and if not replaced within a few days, will begin causing more serious problems than her infection did."

"I'll tell Commander Williams, doctor."

Jack whirled at the silent approach of Miranda. "Yeah," she pushed past her and started to the elevator. "I'll be damned if we let something that stupid kill her now."

"Jack…" Miranda's eyes followed her.

"The girl will be fine for now," Chakwas waved her away. "She needs rest."

"Thirteen…we call her Thirteen. But thank you," she breathed, jogging to catch up to Jack. "Jack! Jack!"

She didn't turn, staring ominously at the elevator door, waiting for it to open.

"Dammit—Jennifer," Miranda stepped close and tugged her hands until she faced her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she snapped.

Miranda's voice softened and she reached up to gently trace the tattoo wrapping around her head. "Jennifer, please don't shut me out."

Jack's head drooped. "Just…seeing her…and what they…I thought I was over this shit," she mumbled, dropping her head to Miranda's shoulder. "Feel some sort of…fucked up…I don't know. I want to…"

"Protect her," Miranda hugged her tightly, feeling the wiry arms pull her close as well.

"I don't get it," she murmured. "What, just because we've got some scars that makes me want to be best friends?"

Miranda turned her head and kissed one of the scars on Jack's neck. "Perhaps you just want to keep her from some of the other scars you managed to find along the way."

"Huh?" Jack pulled back but didn't take her hands from Miranda's waist.

"Nobody cared about or accepted you for a long time. You got hurt looking for those things. You don't want the same for her."

"Yeah, did you see her in combat? It'd take Commander fucking Shepard to take her down if she fell into the wrong hands again…and they managed to finish what they started…" she faltered and the elevator door opened.

"Oh!" Samantha had a crate of boxes on a dolly behind her. "I can make the trip again if you're in the middle of something," her face flushed.

Miranda reached over and pushed the button. "Much obliged, Traynor."

Samantha nodded as the doors closed.

"Hey," Jack grinned. "You do have a bit of a mean streak."

"I blame it on my girlfriend."

"I heard she's a bitch," Jack raised an eyebrow.

Miranda leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. "She's really a big softie," she whispered, kissing her. She pulled back and put a hand on Jack's chest. "I hate myself…for not knowing about Teltin."

Jack's head turned away at the name. "Miri…"

"Please," she whispered. "I wish I could make it right. But I can't. And I can't take back those things I said to you when we were taking on the Collectors."

"I said some pretty shitty stuff too," Jack countered.

"I want to keep Thirteen safe too," she looked down. "I want to make up for my idiocy about…about…" she was surprised to find a lump in her throat.

Jack pulled her into a hug and kissed the side of her head. "Well hell. She's got two crazy bitches on her side. She can't lose."

"I love you, Jennifer," Miranda whispered, tucking her head in the crook of her neck.

"I love you too," she said. She let her stay there for another moment before untangling and hitting the elevator button again. "Now, since you sent our first ride away, we have to go tell Williams we gotta' get to the fucking Citadel!" she seemed to remember something. "Oh!" she turned toward the port observation door. "Blue!" she bellowed. "Tali's in the med bay on the link still! Thirteen is getting some rest! Gotta' get to the Citadel!"

"Well, she's not resting now," Miranda muttered good naturedly.

/

_Shepard kissed her cheek, smiling, and sat up. "Right now, there's no place I'd rather be."_

_ "Neither would I," Liara put a hand on Shepard's shoulder and she turned. She knew the eyes so well; too old—they had seen so much. And yet, they still held love. So much. She kissed her and pulled away slightly, her forehead still pinning a few strands of Shepard's hair to her own forehead. "You mean so much to me…" she said, wishing she knew how to convey it better with her words._

_ Shepard's hand found hers again and squeezed. "I love you, Liara T'Soni."_

_ Liara grinned. So goofy and proper and beautiful, all at the same time. "I love you too, Shepard."_

_ Shepard leaned forward, lips meeting again, and they eased back onto the bed. The kisses were soft—wanting, needing, giving. Her tongue gently eased into Liara's mouth and she tugged Shepard's shirt from her waistband, rolling onto her and slowly working the fabric up her torso. The commander's hands moved to pull off her shirt but Liara caught her fingers gently and broke away from her mouth to gently brush her lips against them. "Let me," she whispered, tugging the garment off and sliding a finger down the middle of her chest to her navel, to her pants button. Shepard kicked off her boots unceremoniously and Liara giggled, undoing the button and zipper, gently sliding them off._

_ "Where are you going?" Shepard propped herself up on her elbows as Liara stepped off the bed._

_ "We can't very well do this if I'm in my suit," she grinned, tugging off her gloves and pulling down a zipper. "And we both know you're not so talented at removing it."_

_ "Maybe I was just shaken up from meeting my clone," Shepard raised an eyebrow. "And too flustered with the fact we actually had some alone time in the apartment…" her words stopped as Liara peeled off the suit and her undergarments. "Or maybe I am just bad at it," she said, staring at the beautiful blue body in front of her._

_ Liara turned slightly, a smile playing at her lips, before she started to the bed again. Shepard's face, so full of awe, like she was the only thing she ever wished to look at. She crawled over the commander and pressed her lips against hers again, her hand traveling around her back and unclipping her bra._

"Blue! Tali's in the med bay on the link still! Thirteen is getting some rest! Gotta' get to the Citadel!"

Liara started and rubbed her eyes. She could still feel Shepard's naked, toned, beautiful body pressed against hers. The warm lips trailing down her collar bone. She stood from the floor and took a deep breath. She could feel it now. The soft, reassuring presence at the edge of her conscious. She hadn't felt it for two years, hadn't dared go back to that night in her memories so intimately. She was afraid she would never want to face reality again. But now…

"Always freaks me out when your eyes go black," Grunt said from the bar.

"I'm sorry, Grunt," she smiled. "Just…" she shook her head. "The model ship you found down there was a rare kind," she shifted her mind from her lover's embrace. "Even damaged it's very valuable. Shepard would be proud."

"Heh heh…can I give it to her when we find her?"

Liara let the hope bloom in her chest. "Yes," her words wisped across the room. "Yes, you can."

"And we can all head butt!"

"I'm not sure about that…" Liara crossed her arms and laughed.

"You're part Krogan! Shepard is honorary Krogan! Why not?"

"I'm afraid our squishy heads…" she tapped at one of her crests, "would not agree as well."

"Shepard head-butted a Krogan on Tuchanka," he grinned. "Did'ja know that?"

"She what?" Liara paused after opening the door.

"Heh heh. He didn't think me and her and Lawson could take on the Rite. She showed him. Then we killed him later."

"Well, she did have a hard head," Liara shook her head.

Grunt raised his glass. "Go check on the young battlemaster."

"Battlemaster?"

"You saw her," he nodded. "That pyjack is scrappy. No way she couldn't be. I like her!"

Liara laughed and stepped out as he downed his drink. Her steps were measured as she walked into the medical bay.

"Doctor Chakwas stepped out to clean up," Tali said from the computer. Her hand lifted to her face plate and she pulled it off and grinned widely. "Hell of a…person? You picked up."

"Yes, she is undoubtedly a person," Liara looked over to the girl. She was sleeping, but a frown creased her face. "And…" she wrung her hands together. "Tali, are you sitting down?"

"What is it?"

"Are you sitting down?"

"Keelah! If you don't tell me, I'm going to stand up just to spite you," she raised an eyebrow.

"She…said…Shepard is alive."

Tali blinked several times. "What?"

"Shepard instructed her to tell us 'I should go' so we would know it's her," Liara felt the grin tug at her mouth. "It must be her."

"Shepard's had a clone before."

"No," Liara turned from the vid feed and put a hand to her temple. "I felt her, Tali."

"Um…"

"Perhaps you find this awkward but indulge me for a moment," Liara turned back to her. "The night before the Cronos station…"

"Yes, I know, you kept pestering everyone on the ship," Tali crossed her arms. "I believe I can put two and two together as to where you went," she let a smile crease her features. "I'm glad you were there for her."

"A Union…it is deeper than a meld," Liara continued. "Much more. It bends the fabric of _I_ to _we_ and _me_ to _us_, in a matter of speaking. Shepard and I…we…"

"Yes," Tali sighed. "Liara, we're your friends. You were bondmates. It was obvious by the way you looked at each other."

"Really?" Liara's face screwed into confusion. "I didn't realize…"

"Get on with it!" Tali waved a hand. "I can't sit here discussing public displays of affection when you dropped the bomb of Shepard possibly being…" she stopped and looked around the room she was in.

"Right!" she cleared her throat. "I haven't…revisited that night in my memories. I've remembered, but not…focused on it. I thought it would be too painful to wake up again."

"And the other times you two…?"

"It was different that time. It was as if we knew we were saying goodbye but hoping we weren't. But I was meditating earlier…I made myself remember. And…I can feel her. In the Union. All I know is that she's alive. I don't know where, and I can't communicate—I don't believe she can feel me, not being Asari, but I know she's alive."

Tali bolted out of her chair. "Keelah, Liara! You should have spat that out at the beginning!"

"You wouldn't have understood if I jumped to the end," Liara crossed her arms.

"Do you think I need to understand your strange mind-bending shenanigans to get away from these stupid politics?" she darted from the camera, still talking. "Where are you?"

"Approaching the mass relay in Pax. I believe we are headed to the Citadel."

"I'll meet you there. I'm sure it won't kill you all to stay an extra day."

Liara smiled. "It'll be good to have you back, Tali."

She rushed past the screen again, holding a case awkwardly under an elbow while furiously typing on her omni tool. "I'll see you soon," she looked over and smiled. "Keelah Se'lai."

"Keelah Se'lai," Liara nodded and shut off the vid comm.

"Keelah…Se…"

Liara turned at the voice. Thirteen was struggling up in the bed, looking down at the bandages covering her shoulder and over her torso. They were soaked in sweat.

"Se'lai," she finally breathed through her teeth.

"Should you be sitting up so soon?" Liara pulled a chair over and sat next to her.

"Didn't want to be rude," she looked to the blank monitor. "She didn't hear me, but…" her face contorted in pain as she attempted a deep breath. "I said it."

Liara bit back the thousand questions pushing to be released from her mouth. "Can you not sleep?"

"Can anyone?" Thirteen ran her robotic hand over her ribs.

Liara nodded slowly. "The War."

The girl examined her cybernetic arm for a moment and looked up. "I remember why they called me thirteen now. Thirteen recon missions out."

"What?" Liara raised an eyebrow. "What sort of base _was_ that down there?"

Thirteen pressed a hand to her temple. "I'm not sure."

"What sort of missions are you talking about?"

"I…on Earth," she frowned. "I was on Earth. I think."

"You think?"

"Everything's a little fuzzy right now," she said quietly, staring at her robotic leg.

"Right," Liara forced herself to calm down. "I'm sorry. How are you feeling? Other than disoriented?"

"You guys…kept saying Cerberus," she blinked hard. "That sounds familiar."

"Right. Your um…confinement is reflective of a previous rogue Cerberus base the Commander investigated once."

"Pragia. Teltin. Jack," she blinked with the words. "Right?"

"How did you know that?"

Thirteen touched the tips of her mechanical fingers to her thumb one by one. "It was just my leg first…" her eyes wandered to anywhere but the Asari's face. "This arm…is new…"

"What do you mean?"

"There was a faction of the—" Thirteen winced and put her hands to her temples. "Mother fucking fuck wads," she ground out.

Liara giggled. "I see you and Jack will get along."

"It hurts to talk about it."

Liara tentatively reached over and put a hand on her metal forearm plate. Thirteen glanced over. "You…you can feel that?"

"Yeah."

"Amazing."

"Makes sense if you figure everything after the merge…oh, you guys call it synthesis, don't you?"

"Yes…" Liara nodded slightly. "Yes, I suppose it would make sense. This is…truly part of you now."

Thirteen gave a disgusted shake of her head and started shivering again. "I was saying…a faction of the…agh…" her face contorted in pain. "Alliance…after Sovereign…at the…aah!" she stopped and looked away, panting slightly. "They must have done something. It hurts like hell."

Liara stood and clasped her hands briefly. "May I look at your head?"

"Uh…okay?" Thirteen raised an eyebrow.

Her fingers landed gently on the shaved half of her scalp. There were healing cuts in a semi-circle, like something had been clamped around her head. Two circular abrasions were beginning to seal above her ear. "Did they have something on your head?"

"Like a metal head band…yeah. They…they were going to start drilling when their alarms went off. Beat feet and then a couple hours later, your friend…uh…Edi. Edi came in. Hours? I think it was hours. I'm not sure. Hard to tell down there…"

Liara grinned and let her hand fall back to her side. "Beat feet?"

"Guess it's a colony recruit thing. We always have the weirdest shit to say," she smiled. "Beat feet…get the hell outta' Dodge…stay frosty."

Liara sat down again and crossed her legs. "Shepard was a colony kid."

"Yeah," she grinned and shifted, pain flickering across her face. "Some of our group are spacers…they laughed at us for a while…then they started saying it. Guess Shepard makes stuff cool."

Shepard. Spoken about in the present tense. Liara looked toward the mess hall. "Shepard," she breathed.

Thirteen gripped the sheets tightly. "A faction of the Alliance after Sovereign started taking recruits and changing…changing us…first it was…routine…and…the…_fuck_," she gritted her teeth and let out a tortured breath.

Liara looked back and jumped slightly. "Thirteen!"

Blood trickled from her nose. She wiped at it roughly with her right hand. "Dammit!" she shouted, tears of pain sliding down her cheeks. "Dammit this is important! I have to—agh!" she bent over, clutching at her ribs.

"No," she said firmly, pressing her hands on Thirteen's shoulders, pushing her back onto the pillows. "What's important right now is that you rest."

"Shepard told me it's important to…and now I can't even…" she closed her eyes and shook her head.

Liara moved to the side of the bed and ran her fingers gently over where they had put a metal band, nearly started to bolt things into her head. "You're safe now."

"No…you're not…none of you…Shepard…told us…"

"Shhh," she murmured, applying a small amount of medigel. "We've faced hell itself. Whatever you have to say, it can wait a few hours. Get some rest," she let her hand rest lightly on her head. "You're with friends."

Thirteen nodded slightly and dropped off to sleep soon after, whatever drugs in her system before and after Dr. Chakwas finally forcing her unconscious.

Liara sighed and stood.

"Not too bad with the kid," Jack's voice whispered.

She turned. "Shepard…is alive. I know it."

Jack smiled. "Call me a monkey's uncle. Shit. Where?"

"If only our lives were always so easy," she smiled back and started out of the med bay. "Do you want me to hold the elevator?"

"Is it dumb…" Jack gave her a sidelong glance. "Talking to people all passed out and shit?"

Liara squeezed her shoulder briefly. "Not at all."


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey! Super stoked about the follows. Thanks so much for reading! Not too much action, but hoping to get to some within the next few chapters. :)_

* * *

Ashley gripped the bar in front of the galaxy map and sighed heavily.

"Commander?"

"Dammit, Edi, I thought I told you not to call me that," she turned.

"You have. Forty-three times, to be exact, since your promotion. But you've earned it," she answered without missing a beat. "Admiral Tali'Zora vas Normandy has formally requested permission to join the crew once we dock at the Citadel."

She smiled. "Tell her it's about time she got her ass home."

"Would you like me to quote you?" Edi's omni tool popped up. "I have conveniently installed a voice recorder for when I inform people of messages so that you do not have to repeat yourself."

"What? No don't quote me. Tell her we'd be honored to have her aboard."

"Oops. It already sent."

"Edi!"

Her face creased into a grin. "That was a joke."

Samantha started laughing and didn't attempt to stifle it, even after the look Ashley shot her. She held out her hand to Edi and they high-fived. "Why so serious, Comma—Williams?" she finally managed to get out after taking a deep breath.

"We have some Frankenstein cyborg in the medical bay! Am I the only one seriously bothered by this?"

Edi looked to Samantha and they shrugged.

"Probably," Samantha offered.

"Behavioral patterns suggest you are slower at accepting those different than yourself," Edi said. "I can see why Thirteen's physical state could be jarring, but she—"

"I wasn't talking about that," Ashley snapped, putting a hand on her hip. "I'm talking about all this freaky stuff we just dealt with two years ago…indoctrination…Cerberus…the two together…Reapers…Saren…" she raised her eyebrows. "Ringing any bells? Who knows what's bouncing around in her head?"

"She was alert enough to tell us about Shepard, despite a serious infection and remaining sedatives in her system," Edi's voice was smooth. "She…protected us on Noveria."

"Five hours to the mass relay, Williams," Joker's voice sounded over the speakers.

"Copy that," she called, then looked back to Edi. "Look, if you want a pet science project, then be my guest, but we can't let her loose on the crew, alright? Lock her down or something."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that."

Edi and Ashley turned at Miranda's voice. She was coming from the old war room. It had been refitted into three decent but small separate bedrooms. Eezo, Jack's varren, padded happily behind Miranda.

"Of course," Ashley crossed her arms. "What do you want?"

"Don't call Thirteen a science project or a pet," she stared at the commander evenly.

"Are you listening to yourself? You're calling her a number," Ashley motioned to the elevator doors. "Sounds exactly like a science project to me. Subject Zero, could be Subject Thirteen…"

"_Don't_ do that," Miranda's voice dropped to a dangerous growl. Eezo, pleasantly oblivious, trotted over to Samantha and sat down, nudging her hand. "Don't you dare, Williams."

Edi took a hesitant step back.

"You're right. She was ranting 'Vanguard' Thirteen, wasn't she? I'm sure the tests are much _nicer_ for a first name like Vanguard. You knew Jack before she was a normal human being. This Thirteen kid could be just as bad!"

"I will turn your head inside out!" Miranda shouted, starting forward. Edi stepped into her path just before the galaxy map steps. "Edi, move!"

Edi put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

Samantha looked over, wide-eyed, and Eezo nudged her hands again, annoyed she had stopped petting him.

"Edi…" Miranda's voice nearly caught in her throat. She wanted to beat the smirk from Ashley's face before she burst into tears. "Move."

"Chalk up another win for Cerberus," Ashley jeered. "Maybe you could adopt her and add her onto your pity-love list."

"Enough!" Edi finally turned. "You will _not_ speak to my friend and your crew member in that tone of voice!"

Ashley blinked and even Eezo sat up straight. "What?"

"You do not wish to be called Commander? Show us that we have one and we will stop feeling the need to remind you that you are! Nobody expects you to be Shepard, but we do expect you to have a functioning core!" she tapped her forehead.

Samantha choked back a giggle and resumed scratching behind one of Eezo's antennae.

"I…" Edi straightened, ran her hands over her uniform shirt and touched her blonde hair absently. "Will be on the bridge."

Miranda pivoted to let her by. She felt her cool hand on her arm and looked up.

"Your love is genuine. Do not let bitter bias make you doubt that," she said before continuing on her way. Once on the bridge, she flopped heavily into the copilot's seat and sighed.

"What the hell happened out there?" Joker looked over, orange lights falling across his face and making soft shadows.

"Jeff," she put her fingers to her forehead. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah," he swiveled his chair slightly. "What's up?"

"Do not call Thirteen a cyborg."

"How about…"

"I found it derogatory," she looked over.

He nodded. "Right. Cyborg is off the nickname list."

"We could think of better alternatives," she smiled.

"Clanky?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"No? Okay…hm…"

"Cuddles," Edi grinned and decided to play along.

"Sparkle! You know, because of all that metal! Sparkly!"

"She also has biotic capabilities."

"Blue Sparkly."

"The Blue Sparkle."

"Ooooh that sounds like a super hero," Joker grinned. "We could make her a cape."

"The Blue Sparkle is not nearly daunting enough. I've seen her in combat. She was…impressive to say the least."

"The _Deadly_ Blue Sparkle."

Edi nodded once. "I think we have found her new name."

"Hey…is it true…what she said about the commander?"

"I have no doubt," she pulled up her navigation panels and started flipping through engine readings.

"Really?"

"Really. And when we find her, she has many bad jokes on which to be caught up."

"Oh, I know. You better tell her each one, too. I don't want to be the only one who's heard them all."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm sure Traynor and Garrus have heard all of them as well."

"And they're still your friends?" he laughed, looking over.

"Well. With my voice…" she grinned.

/

"Do we need to go over the plan again?" Miranda swiped at her omni tool, standing before Jack and Thirteen as if giving a military briefing.

"Fuck, Miri," Jack laughed, pushing her and hitting the 'open airlock' button. "We're just going shopping. Out on the town!"

Thirteen looked down to the brown cargo jeans and dark grey sweatshirt the crew had let her use. She pulled the left sleeve down and grinned at Miranda. "Good to go?"

"Sorry," Miranda pulled the hood up and nodded. "Can't even tell."

"I say let 'em all know," Jack crossed her arms, starting out the door. "Thirteen could take them."

"Not so sure about that right now," she said. She coughed several times and the effort made her double over, clutching at her middle.

Miranda put her hand on her back. "Are you alright?"

Thirteen held up her right hand and nodded after a few wheezing breaths. "Where to?"

The docking bay stretched for two hundred meters before ending in a large door. Security checkpoints branched off from the right wall, continuations of the security offices behind the wall. From the Normandy, it all looked like a long, laid out, backwards E with more branches. "You would feel much better if you would have let Doctor Chakwas keep you sedated for the rest of the way here," Miranda said, beginning a bee-line for the nearest security checkpoint with Jack at her side.

"I don't like feeling fuzzy," Thirteen raised an eyebrow and deftly avoided a Turian with a nearly clumsy hop-skip to her left.

"Watch it," he barked.

"Hey!" Jack whirled around but Miranda had already grabbed her elbow, as if anticipating her reaction.

"Armax. Now."

"They used Saronis," Thirteen said. "I remember seeing it on a package once."

"Then we go and burn Saronis to the ground," Jack said, looking over her shoulder. "Sound like fun?"

Thirteen grinned. "Maybe."

"Jack! Thirteen!"

"Sorry," they chorused.

"_Armax_," she repeated, reaching back and taking Thirteen's left arm. She could feel the metal and cables under the fabric. "Let's go."

"Ooh!" Thirteen stopped in front of a shop window and pressed her right hand against it. Miranda, near exasperation, put her free hand on her hip.

"For the love of all inhabitable planets in this galaxy…" she turned her head to the window. A dozen model space ships were displayed on a table.

_"Miranda, come on! It's their annual sale. It's not going to happen for another six months!"_

_ "Shepard, how is something annual if it happens every six months?"_

_ "Uh…maybe they're going off a different rotation schedule than we do. Please?" Shepard clamped her hands together, pleading, eyebrows up. "I promise I'll be quick. I saw a Turian Cruiser in the ad I want."_

_ Miranda sighed and couldn't help the infectious grin that started on Shepard's face._

_ "Yes? Eh? Yes?"_

_ She waved her off. "Go on. Go get your damn toys."_

_ "YES!" Shepard threw her fists up triumphantly. "Models!" she shouted, pushing through the door._

"Are you looking at those models?" Jack asked, amused.

"Hm?" Thirteen looked back. "Oh, no," she poked the glass and her eyes focused beyond the display table.

"A piano?" Miranda tugged on her arm again. "Maybe we can look at some virtual keyboards on the way back. However, if you would be so kind as to remember your predicament…" she started down the hall again. "Armax Arsenal."

/

Steve Cortez extended a hand out of habit for Liara and then Edi as they descended the final few steps onto the docking bay. He stretched his arms above his head and took a deep breath. "Still can't believe that just two years ago…" he stopped and looked toward the ships flying and docking and leaving.

"Goddess. I can't even imagine what it was like up here," Liara murmured. "The Reapers wouldn't let anyone back until they'd been rebuilding and cleaning for a month."

"I don't care that they're different now," Edi said, allowing her gaze to follow a commercial star ship, "I am glad they left."

"Pretty sure everyone is," Cortez nodded and leaned against the railing. "You can synthesize people, but there's no changing history."

"Liara, Steve, there seems to be an Alliance member on intercept route with us."

Cortez laughed. "Does everything have to sound so dire, Edi?"

She grinned. "It makes life exciting, doesn't it?"

"Well," Liara smiled, "interesting no doubt."

"Excuse me!"

The three begrudgingly turned from their view to face the clean-cut man in his dress blues. He threw a salute and the three returned the gesture.

"Rear Admiral Lucas Breach. In interest of maintaining peace on the Citadel, we search every fifth ship to dock that was out of system for three or more days consecutively in a different system."

"The Alliance does?" Cortez tilted his head. "Sounds more like a C-Sec thing."

"Yes, well the Normandy isn't just another ship, is she?"

Edi straightened. "I will accompany you on board."

"All due respect, Lieutenant Edi," Breach seemed to trip over the formality with the first name, seeing as how she had no last, "this is an Alliance matter. We will need all crew out."

"Aaaaaand down went the Thresher Maw! Shepaaaaaaaaaard, the…" Grunt stopped his uproarious song at the open air lock and stared at Breach. "Who is this?"

"Rear Admiral Lucas Breach," he saluted and Grunt laughed.

"Funny name," he prodded the Rear Admiral's chest as he walked by. "So many names for fighters. You don't look like any sort of Battlemaster to me."

"Excuse me?"

"Too soft," he waved his claw and continued walking. "I'm going to Purgatory!" he called.

Breach cleared his throat and turned to Liara, Edi, and Cortez again. "The ship?"

/

Garrus stood with his arms crossed, staring down the men guarding the air lock back in. "Remember what happened to the last guys who tried to take our ship?" he asked loudly. He, Chakwas, Joker, Edi, Ashley and Liara made a somewhat imposing line, if not a little rag-tag.

"Bad things," Joker narrowed his eyes. "_Bad_ things!"

"They were crushed and their heads mounted on pikes in the CIC," Edi said.

An Alliance member seemed to pale slightly.

"That was a joke."

"I really do have some paperwork to file," Chakwas checked her watch and tapped her foot. "How long do these things normally take?"

"Much longer and we're pulling a Shepard," Ashley muttered, nudging Garrus. He laughed.

Liara smiled. "Which one? The one where she battled her clone or the one where we took the Normandy right out from C-Sec's nose?" she asked, staring pointedly at one of the Alliance members. "I personally am a fan of the latter, though the former was fun as well."

Chakwas stepped over to Liara and leaned in close. "Miranda, Jack, and Thirteen will be back soon and I need to get those amps in her quickly. I have a feeling these scans aren't as frequent as they're telling us," she whispered.

"What Thirteen was trying to say…" Liara murmured. "Alliance."

"A long shot, but do we know any other kind?" Chakwas raised her eyebrows before leaning back. She looked toward the Alliance members again. "Well? Sometime this week, perhaps?"

The man in the middle put his hand to his ear and nodded. "Copy that. We want the chief doctor aboard, please."

Liara sucked in a breath and looked over.

Chakwas started forward leisurely. "As long as I can work and talk at the same time," her voice carried complete disregard for the entire situation. "This is ridiculous."

Ashley looked over to Liara. "I swear," she hissed, "if something happens to the doctor because of that lab rat…"

Liara bit her lip. "We'll figure something out, Ashley."

/

"Just a few more minutes and you'll be feeling fine," Jack reassured as they rounded a corner at a security checkpoint. The desk was far behind them and the only thing between them and open expanse was the wall jutting out onto the wide bay.

"Oh shit," Thirteen muttered, reaching out and yanking her back by her shirt collar.

"What?" Jack peeked around the corner again. "What the fuck?"

Miranda moved to see and then looked down at the small, silver crate in her hands. Her eyes flicked to meet Thirteen's, attempting to gauge how much longer she had before a crash and a seizure. Or stroke.

"Not much longer," she said, as if hearing her silent question. She managed a crooked grin. "How do I look?"

Miranda pulled the hood back. She was pale, a thin sheen of sweat crossed her forehead.

"Like hell," Jack said.

"That good?" Thirteen buried her mouth in the sweatshirt sleeve and coughed several times.

"Dammit…" Miranda looked between the girl and the crate with the amps before moving to the corner again. "If Chakwas isn't here, we need Liara," she shoved the crate into Jack's arms and ran her hands over her hair. "Wish me luck," she whispered, sauntering into the open. "Liara!"

Thirteen braced herself against the wall. "What is she doing?" she asked. "Does she need backup?" she started stumbling forward.

Jack put a hand against Thirteen's chest, keeping her from following suit. "Whoa now. You're in no state to back up anyone."

The girl slumped against the wall and slid to the floor. She rubbed at the back of her neck, gritting her teeth.

"Not much longer," Jack knelt down and pulled her face into her hands. "Dammit, if you die on me, I will kill you."

"Terra Nova," Thirteen muttered.

"What?"

"Repeat it," she said, choking back a cough.

"Terra Nova. What are you talking about?"

"Shepard," she whispered, her eyes drooping.

"No, we aren't losing you now," Jack ordered, looking back around the corner. "Hurry the fuck up, Miri," she turned again and pulled down the back collar of Thirteen's sweatshirt. Inflammation spread through thousands of tiny muscle fibers and, normally invisible, they now peered angrily from under her skin in grotesque purple, flaring up and down her spine from the two amp input nodes in her upper back.

"Desert," Thirteen pulled Jack's hand from the back of the sweatshirt, still investigating the damage. "Our base is in the Terra Nova desert."

"Shut up," Jack said. "You can tell everyone later."

"Repeat it."

"Terra Nova desert," Jack muttered. "Now since you've been ordering me around, you stay the fuck alive, you hear me?"

Thirteen gave a heavy nod.

/

"Liara!" Miranda waved cheerily, halfway to the group.

Liara turned. "Oh, hello," she nodded. "We're in the middle of a…routine search."

"Who's this?" one of the soldiers barked, pulling up his gun.

There was a chorus of clicks and safetys turning off when he realized the crew members were still armed. The soldier paused awkwardly. The retaliation had come upon instinct for them.

Joker crossed his arms. "Yeah. Put it down, big guy."

He complied and they holstered their weapons.

"Very cute," Miranda laughed toward the Alliance soldier. "But I'm afraid we don't take too kindly to weapons being pointed at us."

"Did you need something?" Liara asked after shoving her pistol back in her belt, putting her hands on her hips as if the entire, short-lived standoff hadn't happened.

"I just found a sale on some L5n amps. Thought you may want to have a look."

"Mine are quite alright, thank you, though. I don't use the L5n…" realization dawned on her face too late.

Miranda fought the urge to smack herself on the forehead. "Then maybe a souvenir shop? I know you wanted the Citadel model. I think they have one here."

"Yes, yes!" Liara felt her cheeks burning. "Let's go see, shall we?"

"It's been fun, gentlemen," Miranda waved to the soldiers coyly before starting back to Jack and Thirteen.

"How bad?" Liara whispered.

"You'll see."

They rounded the corner to find Jack standing in front of a Turian C-Sec officer, swaying like she was drunk. Thirteen was on the ground, hood up. Her head twitched toward them slightly. Her eyes were glazed.

"I tellya' what, occifurr…" Jack looked over her shoulder and a flicker of relief crossed her face. "Heeeey!" she stumbled over into Miranda's arms. "There'sh is!"

The Turian tilted his head and waved toward them. "You know this one on the ground?"

"Yes," Liara stooped to help her up, careful not to let the hood fall back. "She's my…cousin."

He waved his hands in the air as he turned to go. "Damn Asari shit. Never can keep their families straight."

"Come on," Jack started back down the hall, boots stamping angrily against the ground. She kicked at the nearest bathroom door and it opened. "Get out, fucker!" she shouted to the volus at the sink.

He trundled out and she slammed the close button, pulling up her omni tool to lock the door.

"Goddess!" Liara's eyes widened as Miranda helped Thirteen out of the sweatshirt.

"Hands. Now," Miranda pointed to the sink. "Hey, hey, Thirteen," she whispered as the girl obviously fought the urge to collapse. Miranda helped her pull off the t-shirt to her bra. "Stay awake."

"Vanguard. Thirteen," she fought to get the words out. "Class and number," she mumbled, blinking. "You don't need a name."

"We quite like the name Thirteen for you," Liara said, flicking her hands into the air to dry them.

"Terra Nova desert," her eyes were straining to stay open.

"This is going to hurt," Liara said, kneeling behind her. "Cover her mouth, please."

Thirteen nodded and Miranda's hand went over her mouth.

"How bad?" Jack asked, looking over from the door.

Liara didn't have time to answer as she swiped her omni over the two amps and then pushed in on one.

Thirteen arched her back, eyes flying open.

"Holy fucker!" Jack ran over and tackled her mechanical arm, wrestling it into a sort of choke hold away from the other two. The blade had extended. "Hurry it up, Blue!"

Liara felt her own skin crawl as she pulled the amp out. It had started fusing with muscle and pulled out in sickening, wet rips. The muscle strands coming out with the wiring were discolored—purple from eezo seeping into them. Blood flicked onto Liara and against Thirteen's uncovered skin. "Just one more," she managed to murmur, roughly yanking the wires free from the bloody pulp and pushing the other amp.

Thirteen jerked again, nearly lifting Jack with her arm, her eyes filling with tears. She struggled against Miranda's hand, anguished cries muffled.

"I know, I know," Miranda kicked the metal case to Liara and managed to pull Thirteen's head into some semblance of a hug. "But we can't stop. We're almost done. We're almost there."

Liara bit her lip and looked over to Miranda. "I'm sorry, Thirteen," she said, digging her fingers into the node slightly to grip the amp. Its fusion was more complete than the other. She yanked backward and Thirteen's body tensed, sent a roar into Miranda's hand with the sound of several rips. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Liara stammered, running back to the sink to rinse the blood off.

"Hold on," Miranda whispered, resting her hand on the shaved half of Thirteen's head. "You're doing well. You're doing so well."

"Mother fucking trooper!" Jack added, still gripping her arm. "It'll take more than Cerberus and the Normandy crew to keep you down…and that's saying a lot."

Liara knelt down again and popped open the amp case.

Thirteen seemed to calm slightly and her blade retracted in.

"Yes, that's right," Miranda's hand moved to the hair line down the middle of Thirteen's head and stroked it gently. "The worst is over."

Her whimpers quieted slightly.

Liara fed the first amp's wires in carefully, frowning in concentration.

"Hell, kid, get through this and I'll ink you back on the Normandy," Jack stood and crossed her arms.

Miranda felt her mouth curl under her hand. "She's smiling, though I would advise against it," she raised an eyebrow. "I swear. Like babysitting two Krogan."

"Krogan headbutt more," Jack protested.

"Well once she's feeling better, I'm sure she'll remedy that," Miranda laughed.

"One amp is in," Liara announced, pulling the second from the case.

"Hurry it up, Blue," Jack raised her eyebrows. "Damn, gonna' go into shock at that rate!"

"Her wiring is different than normal," she said, not taking her eyes from her work. "I think the amps also help power her left arm, seeing as how they're on her back instead of at the base of her skull. She has normal functionality of the arm, but with the amps, it gives her more power. Making up for the lack of an organic…" she faltered and didn't finish her sentence.

Thirteen nodded.

"She says you're right," Miranda said. "Are you almost finished?"

"There. Yes, I'm done. Though we should report to Doctor Chakwas once back on board for a thorough scan," Liara scanned her back again with her omni, applying a generous amount of medigel. At least that much would help with the pain temporarily.

Miranda lifted her hand and stood up, dusting herself off. "Can you get up?"

Thirteen stood, a bit shakily, but finally straightened. "I recognized one of those men," she said, bending and grabbing her shirt. "We need to leave. They must know I'm here."

"But they're Alliance," Jack said, unlocking the door.

Thirteen nodded, finally pulling on her sweatshirt and yanking the hood up. She took an uncertain step forward and Miranda held out her arm.

"Come on."

"Thanks," she breathed, leaning on her.

Jack opened the door to a quizzical looking Salarian. "What do you want, you fast-talking fuck?" she pushed him to the side and continued out.

/

Doctor Chakwas pushed the soldier's hand from her shoulder. "I can navigate my way out of my ship just fine, thank you," she said, tugging at her lab coat. "You interrupted my report to take me out, might I add."

"Let me guess. You haven't found anything, have you?" Garrus nodded toward the Rear Admiral as he exited last, following his men and the doctor. "Nothing to indicate we want to hunt down the Reapers and blow one of them to hell just to start another war? No?"

"Our friend died so that we could be what we are now," Edi said. "Why would we dishonor her name in such a way?" For a moment, she'd forgotten Thirteen's words and the sorrow washed over her. She looked down and Joker slid his arm around her waist.

"No," Breach slipped his hands in his pockets. "We'd had reports of some radical groups on Noveria and wanted to make sure none of them had slipped aboard."

"A little difficult to _slip aboard_ the Normandy," Ashley said incredulously.

"We found a varren in there. Did you know that?"

"No shit?" Ashley looked to Edi. "When did he get there?"

"Scans indicate approximately fifteen months ago."

Breach shook his head. "I can't let this sort of—"

"Now _that_," Ashley nudged Edi, "is a joke!"

The Rear Admiral frowned, confused, looking behind the line of Normandy crew. "Heads up, men!" his confusion melted into a steely mask of determination.

Garrus looked over his shoulder. Jack, Miranda, and Liara were walking their way. He frowned. Where the hell was Thirteen?

"Who's this?" Breach barked, motioning to Jack.

"Jack. What's it to you?" she practically snarled.

"What is your business here?"

Before Liara or Miranda could answer diplomatically, Jack's words were already at his throat. "Chasing down the radical fucks who try and get together shitty little raiding parties for the reapers. That's the shorthand version of course," she leaned forward and prodded his chest. Hard. "You're in my way of doing that."

"Jack," Liara cleared her throat. "This is Rear Admiral Breach."

"Oh," Jack straightened and saluted. "In that case, my bad, Ass Admiral Breach. Get the fuck out of my way, _sir_."

Breach looked ready to pick a fight until he twitched his head slightly, listening to something on his comm line. He glanced back to Jack. "Normandy is grounded until further notice."

"The fuck we are!" Jack cocked a hand back to take a swing at him, but Miranda grabbed her arm just before it went swinging forward. "This isn't over," she growled as he started away with his men.

"Soooo…" Joker walked over as soon as they were out of sight. "Please tell me you didn't let the girl with the weaponized limbs loose?"

"Seemed like a good idea," Jack raised an eyebrow. "Told her not to do anything I wouldn't do."

"Well, in that case," Garrus glanced over. "Back on the Normandy before it takes off without our consent."

"I never stole the Normandy!"

Liara grinned. "Shepard told us about when you were joking about stealing it."

"That sneaky bitch," Jack crossed her arms. "She didn't disagree."

Garrus sighed. "It didn't seem all that bad during The War. Go rogue, blast anything in our way. But Shepard always had that sense of honor and duty. How annoying."

Thirteen rounded the corner and started limping forward. She raised her hand in greeting.

"Thirteen! You stubborn mule!" Chakwas rushed forward and checked her pulse, put her hands to her forehead. "We had better get those amps in."

"They're in, Doctor," Thirteen answered, glancing the way that the Rear Admiral and his men had left.

"They're _what_?"

"We had to be crafty," Miranda objected.

"She was crashing," Jack added. "Hard."

"How did…how…" Chakwas put her hand on Thirteen's back. "To the med bay," she ordered, pointing to the ship.

"And why not?" Thirteen grinned crookedly at Ashley on her way past the crew members. "Seems to be my favorite place."


	4. Chapter 4

"You're all letting emotion cloud your judgment," Ashley slid her tray of food away from her. "We can't trust her any more than if a Cerberus recruit waltzed on."

The crew had assembled in the mess hall to try and decide where to go next. Chakwas, after much pestering from Thirteen, had agreed to let her out under supervision. She was in the shuttle bay with Cortez and Grunt. Grunt had gleefully offered to supervise, but Chakwas had instantly put someone less Krogan in charge of the two.

"I think you're letting something cloud your judgment," Joker adjusted his hat. "She's fine. She saved Edi without a second thought. Good enough for me."

"What?" Ashley looked to Edi. "What's he talking about?"

"When I referred to Thirteen protecting us on Noveria, I didn't mention she happened to save my life," Edi said, staring at her food. "It was irrelevant at the time."

"See? Looking out for our crew," Joker continued. "Not half bad in my book!"

"She wanted a ticket off," the commander waved a hand in dismissal.

"Actually," Edi looked up, "she did not expect extraction."

Ashley frowned. "Now what are you talking about?"

"She registered surprise when we waited for her to get aboard the shuttle."

"Maybe because she knew she shouldn't be here."

"Could you take your blinders off for one minute?" Miranda leaned forward, elbows propped on the table, and rested her chin on her interlocked fingers. "She's done everything she can to help us, expecting nothing in return."

"She gave us a vague lead on where 'Shepard' may or may not be," Ashley spat. "She's tried to implicate the Alliance in something—we don't know what—and managed to get us grounded at the Citadel. I've got half a mind to space her."

Jack shot up from her chair. "You take that back right now, you prissy half-soldier bitch!"

"Why?" her head turned lazily to Jack. "The only thing you like about her is that she's a Cerberus lab—"

"Commander," Liara cut in firmly, "I suggest you don't continue with that line of thinking."

"I will not hold Miranda back this time," Edi added.

"They're right, Williams," Garrus nodded. "Maybe we are going off emotion, but if that's the case, own up to the fact that you are too. We've got intel from a first-hand source. Intel that not even Liara's network could pick up, which would make sense. We've got a lead. We went off of less in The War and we turned out better than okay. Just give Thirteen a chance."

"Better than okay? The galaxy lost its greatest hero," Ashley looked down.

"Precisely," Garrus grinned slightly. "You'd think someone as rowdy as Shepard would be hard to lose. But now we have the chance to find her."

"Edi and I could run scans across the equator of Terra Nova and see if she's being serious," Samantha offered. "We just have to get there first."

Ashley slumped with the weight of opposition to her view.

"Commander," Chakwas nodded in her direction, "if I may?"

She waved her on.

"The only reason we're having this conversation is because we respect you. Albeit grudgingly at times, but Shepard trusted you and believed in you, so we are willing to do the same. That said, should you choose to continue being callous and narrow-minded, you will prove to no longer be the woman we knew before The War. We accept your history with aliens and Cerberus, we tolerate the lingering bias, but ignoring this would be inexcusable. You should expect nothing short of desertion."

Ashley blinked several times and looked around the table. Respect. She bowed her head slightly. "Alright. As soon as Tali's on board, we head for Terra Nova," she whispered.

"And about the grounding?" Joker raised an eyebrow. "Don't think the doc's charm will move them as profoundly."

She looked up and smiled. "If I recall correctly…that didn't stop us once before."

"Alright!" Garrus banged a fist on the table. "Alright! Williams is in the house!"

"Not bad," Jack leaned back in her seat. "About time I got that Normandy hijacking I wanted!"

Ashley felt weight sliding from her shoulders at the various cheers. "Alright. Load up on whatever you want or need. I have a feeling after we bust out of here, we won't exactly be welcome to come back for a while."

"And about Ass Admiral Bitch?" Jack asked.

"If he comes snooping around again…" Ashley shrugged. "I didn't see him, and neither did any of you."

Joker jabbed his fork into Edi's side dish. "Copy that!"

"Jeff!"

"You weren't eating it," he said around the food once he stuffed it in his mouth.

"Dismissed," Ashley started to the elevator. She was stopped by Chakwas.

"Thank you, Williams," she said. "I know it's almost too painful to hope, but we have a chance now."

"It doesn't mean I trust that cyborg," she said coldly. "Keep an eye on her."

"Aye-aye, Commander."

/

Liara stepped into the shuttle bay to Thirteen bowling Grunt onto his back with a biotic blast. Before she had a chance to rush forward, his laugh rumbled through the air.

"Heh heh heh…do it again!" he jumped up and braced himself for impact among the large crates littering the floor space.

Cortez walked over and crossed his arms, shaking his head. "Drunker than…well…I don't even know what."

Thirteen tossed her arm forward, shockwave hurdling toward Grunt, and he was knocked over again. She turned around. "Oh," she smiled. "Hey. I met your friend—Kasumi."

"Oh yeah," Cortez put a finger to his chin. "Goto is on board."

"I like her!"

Liara jumped at the voice to her left. She smiled as Kasumi materialized.

"Let's keep her!"

"That's the plan so far," Liara said, watching as Thirteen hurled another small shockwave at Grunt. "Took some…finessing with the commander."

"She always was so uptight. I was there for the third degree she gave Shep out on Horizon."

"Well…you know she doesn't always take kindly to outsiders. Or change."

"Outsiders?" Kasumi leaned against a console. "Hardly seems like an outsider if she was with Shep for however long after The War. Speaking of which…I still owe her a drink…think she'll remember I said that?"

Liara laughed. "She probably wrote it down."

"I'm sure I'm on a long list of those who owe her one."

"An entire galaxy long," the Asari smiled and put a hand on Kasumi's shoulder. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind cashing yours in as one of the first, though."

Cortez pulled up his omni and looked at the time. "Alright, Thirteen, time to check your amps."

"One more!" Grunt cheered, jumping up and down.

"You've said that ten times," Cortez countered. "Go sit down before you break something."

Thirteen started over. The boot on her right foot scraping along the ground countered the light, metallic clinks coming from her left. She pulled off her t-shirt to a ribbed tank top, low enough in the back to reveal her amp nodules.

"Go on, Liara," Cortez motioned. "Glad you came down. I don't know what to check. I was going to bluff my way through."

Thirteen turned. Liara could still see fading purple through the muscles, and the skin around her amps was swollen and red. Particularly the second, where she'd had to dig her fingers into her back. She shuddered and pressed her fingers lightly around the swelling. Thirteen turned her head and raised an eyebrow. "Ouch."

"You big baby," Liara grinned. "Did Doctor Chakwas give you anything for the pain?"

"I don't know. Gave me a few shots, but I don't feel fuzzy."

"Well do they hurt?"

"You just poked it, you asshole," there was a smile in her voice.

"You're impossible," Liara sighed, amused.

"Absolutely," Thirteen nodded.

The Asari took a step back and spun Thirteen around, pulled an eyelid open. "You should take a break from your biotics."

"Nooo!" Grunt howled from across the bay. "Hit me again!"

Liara sent a shockwave out with her free hand absently and he went tumbling off the crate he was sitting on. "Your body needs time to adjust to the new hardware."

Thirteen frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Your body needs time to adjust."

"I never adjusted before," she raised an eyebrow. "Does it help?"

Liara blinked several times. "Wait what?"

"Does it help?"

"No…no, you never adjusted before?"

"Didn't give us time," Thirteen shook her head. "So it doesn't help?"

"Yes, it does," Liara backtracked. "It helps, I was just…who didn't let you adjust?"

Thirteen opened her mouth to respond but doubled over, hands shooting to her temples. "Shit," she wheezed. "Shit."

"Hit me again!"

Cortez sighed. "Grunt, I think we're done with show and tell."

"Fine," he grumbled, flopping to the floor. "Theeeeere is a taaaaaale from oooooold Tuchankaaaaa!" his horrendous singing started. "Of Shepaaaard the Thresher Maw slaaaayeeeerrr!"

Kasumi grinned slightly. "I didn't know Grunt could sing."

Cortez shook his head. "He can't."

"Commander bold and truuuuue! In those pyjack Alliance bluuuuuues!"

"Is pyjack actually in the song?" the thief looked at the shuttle pilot.

"Not sure. I think it changes every time he sings that line. Two days ago it was 'stupid'."

"Charming!"

Thirteen giggled slightly and pulled on her t-shirt. "It's pyjack."

"Really?" Kasumi straightened. "I'll have to remember that."

Liara shook her head. "We really should invest in some vocal lessons if he insists on singing that every other day."

"…With Grunt the tank-bred Krogaaaan and Lawson, the prissy squishyyyyy!"

"Lawson!" Thirteen grabbed Liara's arm. "Miranda Lawson!"

"Yes?"

"I have to…agh…" her eyes screwed shut. "You need to know…"

"Alright," Liara took her hands. "Okay. We'll figure it out."

"No! It's important!" Thirteen hissed to the floor. "You have to know!"

"Look, once you're feeling better I could do a meld, but until you're—"

"This is going to have to do," Thirteen looked up. "This can't wait."

Liara hesitated for a moment before nodding and motioning to the elevator.

"Those varren didn't have a chaaaaaaaaaance!" Grunt sprung up and clenched a fist, bellowing to the ceiling. "The Rachni fell! And then came the Maaaaaw!"

Liara grinned sympathetically to Cortez.

"It's alright, ma'am," he nodded and pulled two ear plugs from his front jacket pocket. "Sometimes he harmonizes with the grinder."

"…and down went the Thresher Maaaw! Shepaaaaard the Thresher Maw slayeeeeer!"

Kasumi started clapping and Grunt looked over.

"It's not done yet," he let out an enormous belch. "We still have the collectors to kill, Arlakh company to save, and the Genophage to cure. I'm thinking of making up a verse for the Reapers, too."

Cortez plugged one ear and looked over to Kasumi as Grunt started inhaling a huge breath to start the second verse. "I have an extra pair."

She shook her head. "I think I want to hear this. It's quite fascinating."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

/

"Hey," Miranda was surprised to find Jack's figure standing at one of the several tall consoles in Liara's old office. She slid the data pad in her hand onto a desk and stepped over, sliding her hands around Jack's waist from behind and putting her chin on her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to find out what the hell Thirteen was trying to say. She was awake for about half an hour the other night," she answered, frowning in concentration. "Alliance. She kept saying Alliance. And then about recognizing that guy out there. I figure black ops is a good place to start. I'd heard of Jump Zero before. Maybe they were trying something like that again."

The near-quiet whir of the dozen computers in the new Broker office tickled their ears.

"Jump Zero was for human adepts. She's got some impressive biotic abilities but she's a vanguard."

"Right, so I widened the search to class specifics."

"Hm," Miranda slid to her side, a hand still at her lower back. "Anything else?"

"Well she said it was after Sovereign. I wanted to try and search for start-up dates one to six months after the attack, but I can't figure out this fucking thing," she pounded a fist on the holographic keyboard. "So put in start-up dates one to six months after the attack for me," she moved sideways and let Miranda's fingers dance across the keys.

"Here's something," she reached up and expanded a file.

"These are building contracts," Jack frowned.

"But are they?" Miranda grinned. "Don't know many building contracts that go through Alliance secure channels. God…for every single class. Adepts, sentinels, vanguards, engineers, soldiers, infiltrators…"

"No shit?!" Jack swiped to the next file. "Damn. It says initiative denied."

"Not a dead end yet," Miranda typed something else in. "If we check for other messages like this that the reply wasn't a denial…"

There was a disheartening beep.

"Is it a dead end now?" Jack asked as they stared at the blank screen.

"Never a dead end," she looked over. "They would be bound to keep trying whatever they were talking about. Since nothing pulled up…"

Jack leaned against the desk. "Holy fucking shit."

"Yeah," Miranda whispered, tracing a hand up one of Jack's scars on her right arm, "they went rogue. Even partnering with Cerberus would show up in the network…until Shepard helped Liara take down the Shadow Broker. All agents were pulled and information was sent in hard copies. It's only recently they've gotten sloppy with leaks…after the Illusive Man disappeared."

"I know they were with Cerberus," Jack pulled away and crossed her arms. "Maybe they teamed up after the Collectors, but that base down there was Cerberus."

"I know."

"What the hell did they do? Why can't she talk about it?" Jack fumed, wishing there was a stack of paper somewhere she could fling off a desk. She settled for a nearby data pad. "They…they…" she stopped, staring at her left arm. "They took her fucking arm, Miri! Maybe even her leg before that!"

Miranda waited patiently. She knew trying to calm her in the middle of a tirade was useless.

"Just when you thought things couldn't get nastier…when you thought you knew how fucked up people could be…" she flung her hands up. "They took half her limbs and stuck something in her damn head that won't let her tell us who did and where we can find the fuckers!"

Miranda closed the gap between them and took Jack's head in her hands lightly. "We'll find them," she murmured. "If it's the last thing I do, I promise we'll find them and figure out just what the hell they were doing."

"Are doing," Jack said, nearly losing her thought as Miranda's body pressed against hers.

"We'll find Shepard. She can probably fill in some of our blanks. Until then, I'll keep looking."

"I don't care what Williams says, I trust the kid."

Miranda grinned. "You know, you're pretty cute when you have your compassion pants on, caring about other people."

"Yeah?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "Well, Alliance blue looks horrible on you."

Miranda leaned forward more, her lips brushing Jack's as she responded. "I guess you should do something about that."

Jack's lips closed over hers, hands reaching down and fumbling her belt buckle open. Miranda reached up and tugged the hair tie from her ponytail and curled her fingers in the soft, brunette strands, backing Jack against the desk.

/

"Are you sure?" Liara asked as the door to the starboard observation deck closed.

"For the third time. Yes."

"Humans are normally fine in a meld but with your current condition…"

"It's important," she repeated.

"Yes, I know, but—"

"You know what I was used for a lot during The War?" she asked, kicking out her left foot slightly. It clanked against the floor. "Other than recon?"

"What?"

"Sending information. They would tell me stuff and send me to another unit with an Asari so I could relay it."

"Why couldn't you tell them?"

"They put in…" her face screwed in pain. "See?" she breathed.

"Alright. Okay," Liara took a deep breath. "Then you are accustomed to the phrase?"

"Yes."

"Well then…" Liara put her hands on her shoulders. "Embrace eternity."

_Unfamiliar faces with scalpels. Pain throbbed at her amp nodes._

_ "Did your friend back on the Citadel ever respond?"_

_ "Yes! I told you! The bounty on Lawson is out! Alive only."_

_ A scream. Animal-like, ripping through her throat as something cut at her shoulder. She couldn't feel the pain, just something cold in her skin._

_ "Would you shut that thing up?"_

_ An oily rag touched her tongue, filled her mouth. She tried not to gag._

_ "Any idea on how long?"_

_ "Next time they dock at the Citadel, they'll be in position."_

_ "Breach is still good for his word, right?"_

_ "Of course."_

_ "And this will be good to go—the new plate? I hate that nasty nub look. This is much sleeker."_

_ "I agree, sir. More aesthetically pleasing."_

_ A metal plate fixed over her shoulder where rods and cables sunk into the small nub of her shoulder. Something poked at her collar bone. A scream as metal began drilling into bone._

"Goddess," Liara pulled back, her hand flying to her own collar bone.

Thirteen winced. "Sorry. I can't always block the pain."

"Breach's men?" Liara raised her eyebrows. "Were they the…"

"Wait, there's more," Thirteen took a deep breath and stood straight, arms at her sides. Liara could see hints of The War hanging at her shoulders, edging into her eyes. "Ready to report."

She nodded and initiated the meld again.

_Strapped to the table. Cool metal around her head, a faint electrical pulse through it._

_ "What do you think?"_

_ Thirteen craned her head to try and see the owner of the voice. Two men._

_ "Good enough for now. Put her against Engineer Nine. I want to see if she can hack her limbs. It should be an interesting fight."_

_ Thirteen strained against her bindings. "No!" she screamed. "No! Fuck you! You bastards!"_

_ "She's got a mouth."_

_ "We need Lawson for the final phase of that control chip."_

_ "And if she doesn't want to tell us?"_

_ "She'll tell us."_

_ "How do we know it'll work? Everything we've tried has worked fine on the others. Why isn't she complying?"_

_ "The War, I guess. Double digit recon workers are stubborn."_

_ "Whoa! Watch the blade!"_

_ "We really should get a containment field around her for that."_

_ "You're the genius who weaponized her limbs."_

_ "They're useful. Nothing more. She is a tool. Tools are always wanted for maximum use. Anyone could get a good number of missions out of her."_

_ "We're wasting good money on the others, putting them against her."_

_ "Typical Alliance thinking. You partnered with us, remember? Our game now. Your little black ops experiment failed. We're perfecting your idea."_

_ "We were strapped for funding. Didn't have nearly enough for the numbers we were experimenting on. And when the hell is Lawson landing on the Citadel? We've been waiting over a month."_

_ "Patience! Good for us—more time to plan."_

"There were more of you?" Liara asked, pulling away.

"I killed six of us," Thirteen whispered. "Killed my friends. My teammates. My…family," she turned to the windows, shutters drawn down, and started flipping through different vid projection settings. She stopped at a view of the stars. Liara vaguely thought it looked like the system near Tuchanka. "Engineer Nine. Sentinel Eight. Adept Vancouver Eight…" she turned. "Eighth mission was Vancouver. Sometimes we went by a significant mission. She had helped personally escort Admiral Anderson to a safe bunker."

Liara nodded.

"Soldier Nine and Soldier Bronx Nine…Bronx helped evacuate one hundred civilians under fire. Every one made it to the resistance zone."

"Goddess."

"Adept London Nine," she grinned. "She was always a cocky bitch. Had to love that about her. She was my friend…my family. Held the line there for three months. Got transferred stateside when there was a big push from the western cities to the northern."

"They…put you…against each other? On Noveria?"

"Sick, right?" Thirteen put her left hand against the shutters, examining it closely. "They had changed them. They didn't recognize me…until…the last second," she closed her eyes. "The last second, when I had my damn blade through their middle…they would always remember. Eyes would clear up…say they were sorry. Why would they be sorry?" she turned finally. "I was the one killing us all off."

"Thirteen…" Liara reached out but she avoided the touch. "I am…I am so sorry."

"I have to tell Shepard when we get there, too," she muttered. "But for now…" she looked up. "Miranda needs to watch her back."

"Is there anything else you can remember? Anything that may help us identify who to look for?"

"Breach isn't the muscle," Thirteen shook her head. "He's like a paper pusher. The…" she frowned and nodded. "Look again. I know a leader. I don't know about his crew, but this guy…look."

_A grass field. Heat clinging against skin. Sweat plastered her hair to her forehead._

_ "Fall out!"_

_ She rolled her shoulders and looked over as a fistful of grass hit her ear. "You're an ass, you know that?" she laughed at a girl a few feet away. Her hair was golden, slapped against her forehead and temples with sweat. A strand reached across her bright blue eyes. A sleek, muscled arm reached up and wiped, clearing her vision._

_ **She will be Engineer Nine in one year and eight months. Right now she is Delta Engineer.**_

_ "And you're not, Vanguard?"_

_ **I am Delta Vanguard now. I will be Vanguard Thirteen in one year and nine months.**_

_ "Never," she bent down and ripped a clump of grass for herself before tossing it back and starting a mad dash for a building a few hundred yards away._

_ "Beat ya'!" there was a streak to her right and suddenly in front of her was a broad young man, grin nearly cracking his face in half. Dark, short hair. Vanguard, without time to react, bowled into him and they landed in a heap on the ground. He laughed and jumped up again._

_ **He will be Soldier Bronx Nine in one year and nine months.**_

_ "Dammit, Soldier!" she shouted good naturedly as the golden-haired girl caught up and re-tackled her. "Well. We meet again, Engineer," Vanguard smiled crookedly and pushed her off easily, rolling over and hopping up. _

_ She had both her arms. _

_ She helped Engineer up and they paused for a moment, their bodies close._

_ "Beat feet like I was a force to be reckoned with," Engineer smiled and pushed her shoulder as they continued walking to the building. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were almost a chicken-shit."_

_ "You kidding me? I don't know if you can hack this leg or not," she laughed. "Make me start kicking my own ass. I only just got used to it."_

_ Voices drifted to them from two officers far to their right. Vanguard and Engineer stopped talking._

_ "You think I believe that rumor? Commander Shepard was spaced after the Normandy blew. I don't care who you are, there's no coming back from that."_

_ Vanguard looked over._

_ "Miranda Lawson. Ever heard of her?"_

_ "No."_

_ "She could be useful…in our…program. These colony pieces of shit are only half worth the trouble. Message from base said we start Phase Two tomorrow. About time we beat those grins off their faces."_

_ **Him. Look at him.**_

_Nothing was outstanding about his appearance, other than a large, pink scar across the bottom left of his jaw. He shot a venomous glance at Vanguard and Engineer. Dark goatee, shaved head, stormy grey eyes. Somewhere around six feet tall. His muscles tugged at his sweat-drenched shirt._

_ "We want to control them the way we want, we need to get Lawson. Maybe I will."_

_ "Sir?"_

_ "When the time is right."_

"You can communicate during…" Liara blinked and her eyes widened. Thirteen was pale, a drop of blood eased from her nose. "Thirteen!"

She wiped at it roughly. "It was my job, remember? You do something enough, you get good at it. Did you get a good look at him?"

"Yes, I did."

"Tell Miranda," she said, slumping onto the couch.

"I will. For now, we're fine on the Normandy."

"I just need some solid food," she leaned her head back, closing her eyes. "I've only had the nutrient shots Doctor Chakwas gave me."

"I'll go get something for you."

"Wait!" Thirteen held out her hand. "One more."

"You can't take one more!"

Her face had an iron will in it. "I can do whatever I damn well decide. And I will show you one more thing. Why we were running."

Liara shook her head and begrudgingly entered her mind again. The fuzziness of the meld slowly slipped away and Liara could see everything as if she were floating just a few feet above the scene.

/

A streak of green lit the sky. Thirteen looked up. Ash, dirt, and blood covered her face. She ignored the husks charging for them. She was going to die, but at least she would die looking at something fucking pretty. She had heard of the Aurora Borealis. Always wanted to see it. This would have to do. A beam charged down from the sky, blindingly green. She put up an armored hand to partially cover its light, watched it skiing across the broken buildings and smoking metal from crashed shuttles and ships. A large bubble seemed to form and spread out, slowly at first, but gaining speed as a similar one pushed from the Citadel, far away in the sky.

She looked over to Engineer Nine and took her hand, smiling.

"Hell of a way to go," Nine said, grinning back. "Green always was my favorite color."

The green passed them—passed through them. Passed through the husks. Brilliant lines exploded in Thirteen's vision for a moment. She blinked them away. Nine was still there, her eyes no longer blue. Green. Startlingly green.

"Well piss on my head and call it rain," Nine grinned. "Your eyes are fucking green. Now it's _really_ my favorite color."

Thirteen looked around. The husks had stopped charging and looked at each other almost dumbly, then at the dozens of Special Ops soldiers. They dropped to their knees and bowed their heads.

Something bowled into them from behind and three figures went careening across the dirt.

"Attack! Attack those fucking things while they're down!" a voice bellowed.

The Spec Ops hesitantly started forward. Nine and Thirteen were struggling upward after the body had slammed into them.

"Who the hell…" Nine rolled over the figure as gunfire started again.

She coughed and gasped, eyes opening wide and green.

"Hey," Thirteen knelt down and ran a scan with her omni tool. "You'll be okay, soldier. Class and number?" she pulled off her chest plate and fixed it over the woman. She was stark naked.

"Huh?"

"Spec Ops?" Nine asked, pulling an emergency thermal blanket from one of the many pouches at her heavy belt. She wrapped it around the woman's waist and cut a slit down the middle, started sealing the two separate sections. Crude pants, but she wouldn't freeze.

"No…why are my pants gone?"

"We'll worry about that later," Thirteen said. Her arms looked disproportionately large with the armor pieces still on, leading to the black thermal underneath. "Name and rank?"

She struggled up and spit out a glob of saliva and dirt. "I should be dead…I thought I was dying…"

"Yeah, I have a feeling we'll all be saying that for a long time," Thirteen gave her a cheerful clap on the back and pulled off the boots to her armor. Her combat boots would have to do. "What's your name, friend?" she helped the woman slip them on.

"Shepard. Commander Shepard."

"Holy fucking Reaper tits," Nine grabbed Thirteen's arm. "We need to go."

"Why?" Shepard looked around. "What's going on?"

"What?" Thirteen raised an eyebrow.

"Look at us, Thirteen," Nine said, grabbing her face in her hands. "Look at what they've done. They bolted pieces on us. We don't even remember our names. You think they're just going to let Commander Kicking-Injustice's-Ass Shepard back into the world? You think they're going to let us go? Even after all of this? Something's different and they're still having us slaughter them like we're grim fucking reapers!" she gave a wry grin. "Ha. Reapers."

"Shit. Oh shit," Thirteen pulled one of Shepard's arms around her shoulders and Nine took the other. They moved her behind a jagged piece of fighter jet wing.

Shepard winced, grabbing at her ribs.

"Speaking of shit, you look like it," Nine said, pulling up her omni and grabbing at a pouch on her belt.

"Yeah, well, I don't have my pants on," she grimaced, a smile still etching its way onto her features. "Can't save the galaxy without pants, I always say."

"And I say the same about my bra," Nine raised an eyebrow, pushing a pill into Shepard's mouth. "Looks like you're giving the universe a big fuck you to both of those today!"

"This tastes horrible."

"Swallow the damn pill, Commander," Nine ordered.

Thirteen peered around the jet wing. The Spec Ops were mowing through the bowed husks. "I'll go get the others."

Nine nodded.

"Hey!" Thirteen dashed into the open, waving her gun above her head. "Delta Squad! Echo Squad! Foxtrot! All Spec Ops! Cease fire! Cease fire!"

"What the hell…" her officer turned and fired several rounds at her. She brought up both arms, a blue field zapping around her.

"Cease fire! We're getting the hell outta' Dodge!"

"Don't you dare!"

Thirteen debated sharing the information. "We have Commander Shepard! Cease fire! We have to get her out of here!"

"Commander…" the officer started toward Thirteen. "Get out of my way! Where?! Snap to! Where is she, you piece of space trash?!"

"We aren't your tools anymore," Thirteen growled.

"The hell you aren't! Class and number!"

Thirteen let the rehearsed words pushing up her throat spill from her mouth. "Vanguard, Thirteen."

"Report, Thirteen! Where is she?!"

Thirteen grinned and raised her gun, biting off the weak urging of something trying to give him the truth. "Thirteen signing off, sir," she let her finger squeeze the trigger. His shields flared as he ran for cover, calling other officers of the Spec Ops teams.

"Dammit—get her and find the Commander!"

The soldiers seemed to debate within themselves for a few moments. Half broke off running toward Thirteen and the other half pulled up the barrels of their guns.

"No!" Thirteen threw her shield forward, a blue wall rushing out and shielding the backs of her friends running for her. Bullets zinged and ricocheted off as they turned.

A loud crack from her left made her head swivel. Shepard held up a pistol from behind the cover and grinned. "Got him! Take that, pants! Don't need you to save the galaxy!"

Thirteen looked to her right. The officer had a neat bullet hole through his forehead. "Damn. Shepard one, pants zero."

"Where are we going?" Bronx Nine pulled up beside Thirteen and simultaneously threw a salute to Shepard. "An honor, Commander."

"Nine?" Thirteen shouted. "Any ideas?" her barrier was weakening. "Get ready to return fire!"

"Locked and loaded!" Vancouver Eight's arms glowed blue, starkly contrasting the green lines pulsing in her skin. All of their skin.

"Shit," London Nine muttered, pulling up her own barrier. "Killing our own. Guess we knew it would probably come to this, didn't we?"

Eight readied a machine overload execute code onto his omni tool and shook his head. "They aren't our own any more. They changed them."

Thirteen gritted her teeth. "Balls to the walls, people! Go!" she let her depleted barrier fall and dropped to the ground, waiting for the rush to come over her telling her she was recharged. She panted, rolling over and crawling to her former officer's corpse. She touched her forehead briefly before yanking at his leg armor.

"Colony recruits?" Shepard shouted, leaning out from cover and shooting as Nine ran her omni tool over her rib cage.

"Long three years from when we signed up, but hells yes, Commander! Some of us are!"

"Glad I'm not the only one with the weird sayings now!"

Thirteen tossed the armor aside and jumped as a bullet pinged off her barrier. She pulled at his cargo pants.

"Thirteen!" Nine shouted, reaching under Shepard's chest plate to wrap a binding gauze around her torso to help with her ribs and serving as a makeshift bra, as well as giving her some sort of heat. "What the giant horse shit?!"

She wrestled the pants off and threw them over. They landed in a heap near Nine and Shepard. "She's gotta' have her pants!"

"You're nuts, you know that?!" Bronx shouted, sending a carnage blast forward.

"Help me out, Bronx," Nine ordered. He knelt down and they helped Shepard into them. At least she was mostly clothed now.

"Husks at our six!" Thirteen jumped and aimed her gun for them, but they threw their hands up.

"Let us help," one stammered. The voice was unnatural and thick; cloudy with mechanical whirs. "Commander Shepard," it pointed. "We are united now. We are alive again."

Thirteen tilted her head. "Well that's freaky as shit."

"I am sorry," it said, continuing forward. "But you must go. We can feel the control of the others you call Spec Ops. Your friends are gone. Let us help. You should not have to kill your own kind—this was our doing. Get the Commander to safety."

"Fall back!" Thirteen shouted. "The husks are…friendlies?" she raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "Husks are friendlies!"

"Since when do we fall back?" Vancouver Eight shouted. "You know the fucking drill, Thirteen!"

"Right," Thirteen raised her gun. "Advance in the rearward direction!"

"Hells yeah!" the several Spec Ops roared in unison.

"Commander in the middle!" Nine shouted. They instantly formed a semi-circle around her as they ran down the hill they had been atop.

Near the rear of the crowd of husks, one grabbed Thirteen's arm. She whirled, gun up, out of habit.

"D…Dianne," the voice whirred.

Thirteen blinked several times and gripped her shoulder tightly, the hand still at her bicep. Words caught in her throat. Dianne seemed to understand and nodded.

"Grateful," she said. "Did not shoot."

Thirteen finally found her tongue. "We are united, friend," she squeezed her shoulder.

"United," she repeated, a faint smile pulling at her ghoulish face. "Friend," she motioned away. "Go."

Thirteen ran to catch up to the group again and circled to the front, gun held loosely in her hands.

"Damn…given you guys an extra week and you could have won the war," Shepard laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous," Nine sent out a defense drone to try and help the husks. "It would have taken at least a month with all the time for travel factored in."

"Hell," Bronx laughed, "add in another day for a light provisions run."

"There's nothing light about provision runs with you," Sentinel Eight said, checking over his shoulder.

"Wait…" Shepard's voice bumped from being supported by Nine. "Where the hell are we?" she looked up. "I don't know these constellations from this position."

"Where do you think you are, Commander?" Nine asked, ever the medic.

"London?"

"Is that where you were before?"

"Yeah…"

"Damn."

The sounds of fighting faded behind them and soon, it was only the hustling clanking of their armor and metal implants in the cooling air, weaving through debris.

"Well?" Shepard asked.

Thirteen turned, sweat rolling down the side of her face. Her arm swept out. "Welcome to Minneapolis Intergalactic Space Station's civilian zone one. It was a looker once upon a time. Or so we've been told. Zones two and three aren't quite as bad. This was the most densely populated area in the north."

"Shit," Shepard breathed.

"Yeah," Nine agreed. "Yeah, all profanities from all cultures would about sum it up. But I'm gonna' go with mother fucking bosh'tet asshole."

"I like you!" Shepard grinned lopsidedly. "What did you give me? I feel great! Let's keep going for hours!"

"That's the plan," one of the Spec Ops from Froxtrot Squad laughed.

"Forward the light brigade!" Shepard shouted.

Nine looked ahead to Thirteen; vanguard to the core—leading the way. They _were_ a little glow-ish. Thirteen looked over her shoulder and smiled briefly. It was her favorite poem. "Into the valley of death…" Thirteen started.

"Rode the six hundred," Nine answered.

"And they kicked some Reaper ass!" Shepard shouted.

"Yes," Nine patted her with the hand of the arm holding her up, "yes they fucking did."

/

"You…you protected her," Liara stammered. Thirteen looked away, the red cybernetic lines glaring against her skin.

"_We_ did," she said quietly. "And I killed six of us. There's no redemption from that."

Liara put her hand on her left shoulder lightly. The rise of a bolt gently pressed against one of her fingers. She felt a flickering ghost of the pain—the screw beginning to drill down. "There is always redemption. And, if the program had succeeded in controlling them…you were theirs."


	5. Chapter 5

_Quick couple of notes...first, thanks again for following! Makes me so happy! Second, I changed the exchange between Liara and Shepard on the Presidium because I was pretty pissed during the game when she called us friends. Anyone else? And third-this chapter and the next were originally one, but that would have been a monstrous read. So separately they're a little shorter, but it's easier to keep your place, I hope. Ok! Enough babbling! Thanks again!_

* * *

"Any sign?" Ashley approached Garrus from behind. They were still at the docking bay. Liara had promptly given everyone the quick vision of the man Thirteen had showed her the day before.

"Of Tali or Scarface do you mean?"

She grinned. "Either."

"Oh, well in that case, nothing," he leaned against the rail and looked over at her. "Still don't trust Thirteen?"

Ashley sighed. "It's not something you come by so easily these days."

"Hmph," he grunted, grinning. "Don't trust the stray soldier who made it out of a shit-fest alive? Sounds like a good philosophy. Oh wait…" he tilted his head. "That was you, wasn't it?"

She whacked his arm good-naturedly. "Shut up."

"Seriously, though," he spread his arms. "Hit me, Commander. What's the deal? Is it the Cerberus, the Alliance implication T'Soni told us about, or just her sword-arm? Which…by the way…I wouldn't mind an armor upgrade like that," he mused.

Ashley sighed and ran a hand through her hair, vaguely noting it was the first time he had called her Commander. "Off the record?"

"No judgment," he held up a hand. "Unless it's the blade thing. I really like it. Just saying."

"What she is."

"It's the blade thing!" he threw up his arms. "Now you've crossed the line!" he smiled and leaned against the rail again. "Care to elaborate before I storm off angrily because you insulted the coolest thing I've ever seen?"

"She's…Cerberus and the Alliance working together. It's like mixing oil and water. It doesn't go together. It shouldn't go together."

"She's a kid. Well, to us," Garrus said, the humor edging out of his voice. "She volunteered for the Alliance and some wing-nut took advantage of her and however many other recruits. Turned them into something…wrong. She's as much a soldier as you or me."

"She showed Liara that they had started either implanting control devices or indoctrinating them—we don't know if she's going to turn on us."

"That control was shattered when they saved Shepard," he countered. "Plus the indoctrination always had that creepy, blue, dead-eyed side effect."

"And what about Noveria? There aren't answers for that. She killed six of her own. _She_ did! Makes me wonder who was really controlled."

"Can I ask you something?" his gaze wandered lazily along the shining tiles of the bay.

"Yeah."

"If it had been an Alliance member strictly kidnapped and separately tortured by Cerberus, would you be asking these questions? Think about your answer."

Ashley paused. "Yes! I…I…" she looked away. "I don't…that isn't the case, Garrus."

"She can't help what's happened. She saved Shepard and within the first ten minutes of meeting us, she saved our asses. Especially Edi's. It's not like she set up the entire deal, Williams. It was a rogue faction. You couldn't stop it any more than Miranda could have stopped Teltin."

"Don't compare me to her," she looked away.

"It's true," he shrugged. "Miranda is a good woman, and so is Jack. You need to stop treating them like escaped convicts."

"Isn't Jack…" Ashley glanced over.

"No," he held up a finger. "She's an _ex_-convict. And Miranda is _ex_-Cerberus. You should start remembering that."

She looked out to the ships, deflated. "I don't know how Shepard did it."

"That's what makes Shepard Shepard," he sighed. "Now," he straightened and held out a hand. "Vakarian therapy session will be six hundred creds."

She laughed and pushed his shoulder. "Win it in poker."

"I'm wounded," he put his hand over his heart. "Those were some deeply-thought words I gave you."

"Maybe I'll buy you a new scope mod. Maybe."

"My wound has been healed!" he exclaimed, turning to watch the ships.

"Thanks, Garrus," she offered, starting back to the Normandy. "I don't trust the cyborg yet, but you gave me something to think about."

He nodded. " 'Yet' is good, Commander. Yet is good."

/

"And this is why I love taking you out!" Joker sighed as they turned into a ship parts shop. Souvenir dash figures bobbled slightly next to boxes full of odds and ends screws and bolts. Seat upgrades were advertised with a 'low' installation price next to a leather flight seat demo.

Edi held a silver briefcase with the Hahne-Kedar stamp across the front. "Boots and advanced FBT couplings are a girl's best friend."

"Are you kidding? They're my best friends!" he stopped. "Well, the couplings. Not so big on shoe shopping."

"I noticed that Thirteen resents the uneven sound of her walk she has acquired since her tests in the…" Edi stopped and looked around. "These should remedy that."

"You know, you could just say 'thanks for saving my life.' I'm pretty sure that would work just as well. She seems like an easy person to please."

"Which is exactly why I got her these," Edi countered. "Practical and easy."

"And expensive."

"Not as bad as when I almost had Shepard help me rob a bank. I accidentally bought you a sky car."

"What?" he whirled around. "Why did I never hear about this?"

"Her idea was much better. She called the company and said a friend's niece was playing around with the data pad and the credit chit information was already installed in the memory. It worked like a charm. Or perhaps it was the fact that it was Shepard talking."

"No, I'm still stuck on the sky car. You what?"

Edi sighed. "I accidentally bought you a sky car. I was still getting used to aspects of human behavior. I still am. You…we…are a very complex bunch."

"No arguing with you there," he adjusted his hat and looked at a wall of flight seat arms. "Ooooh…" his eyes lit up. "We could use some new ones!"

Edi smiled as he absently wrapped his arm around her waist. She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Which ones?"

He pointed near the top. "There's zebra print…cushioned chrome…fuzzy pink…ooh! Ooh! Look! A Blasto-5 set!"

"Blasto, Jeff?"

"Yeah! Fast cars and faster ships and…" he paused. "I've never shown you the vids, have I?"

"No."

"What?!" he shouted. "What have I been thinking?" he turned to the nearest salesman. "I'll take two sets of the Blasto arm rests."

"Of course," the Salarian nodded. "Good choice. Good vids. Comfy."

"Jeff?"

"Hm?"

"I agreed to Tali showing me a vid called Fleet and Flotilla once she boards."

"Damn. Always late to the party."

Edi grinned and kissed his cheek, then wrapped her arms around his middle. "We will have a movie night soon."

"Okay, fine…but only if you promise that we can watch at least two in a row."

"I promise."

"Yes!" he pumped his free hand in a fist and looked around the store. "Everyone see her? Yeah? She takes me shopping at parts stores and promises to watch Blasto with me! Your jealousy may commence."

"Sometimes I don't know whether to kiss you or zap you with an overload shot."

Joker grimaced. "Overload?"

"That was a joke," she smiled and turned his face toward her. "It is normally the former," she kissed him lightly.

"Normally?" Joker asked as she spotted new vent covers and pulled away to go investigate. "Wait…normally?"

"Look! They come in tinted chrome!" she exclaimed.

/

Ashley turned at the familiar clunk and soft clang of a set of footsteps behind her in the port observation room. "Cyborg," she nodded to her and lifted a glass of blue liquor. How many had she downed since her talk with Garrus a few hours ago? No more than six…or seven…

"Permission to share an idea, Commander Williams?"

She nearly choked on the burning liquid and turned around. "Is it your own?"

Thirteen stood at attention, strangely imposing despite the dark circles under her eyes, civilian clothes, and the lacking few inches in height from most of the crew. It had to be her cyborg arm, sticking down at her side. "Yes ma'am. Well…no ma'am. Shepard's."

"Alright," she waved her hand. "Report."

"Shepard mentioned a friend in the Alliance who you guys could trust. Said we would need to contact them once we found you. Seeing as how I'm here and she isn't yet, I figured I should—"

"Get to the point," she snapped.

"James Vega."

Ashley narrowed her eyes and looked at her over the rim of her glass. "We haven't been in contact with Vega since he was promoted in the ranks of N7 to some tactical recon guy. Last time any of us talked to him was over six months ago. Couldn't even tell us where he was, but he slipped something to Cortez about the Attican Tra…why am I telling you this?"

"Probably drunk, ma'am."

"Hey, if I asked you for your name and rank, what would you say?"

Thirteen's face wavered slightly and Ashley felt a small prick at her conscience. "Alliance Special Ops. We're as good as what we do. Vanguard of the Delta Squad."

"Where does thirteen come in?"

"During The War, ma'am."

Ashley felt the several shots buzzing through her now. She wanted to shut her conscience up. She was only staring at half a human. "So if I asked you…during The War your name and rank, what would you say?"

"Alliance Special Ops. We're as good as what we do. Vanguard, thirteen missions out and back, Delta Squad."

"You counting the missions where you killed your friends?"

Thirteen's jaw flexed slightly. "No, ma'am."

"So should I call you Nineteen?"

"Permission to get back on topic."

"Right," Ashley plopped her glass down heavily. "James Vega! What can he do for you?"

"Not me, ma'am. For you and your crew."

"Right, you warned us about Scarface. Gold star for you. Guess you need a promotion now."

"There are…more," Thirteen winced. "It won't end with him…or with…Lawson," she gasped after the name and shook her head, as if trying to shake a headache away. "You need Vega's help."

"You've got some guts, implying the Alliance is dirty."

"All respect to our uniform, ma'am, only a few of the many. But they're a radical, dangerous few."

"Our?" Ashley strode over to Thirteen and stared down at her. "Our uniform? I don't know what uniform you wear, but I don't kill my teammates and I don't let people screw stuff onto my leg."

"Your bias is acknowledged and understood. The urgency of this information is not diminished, Commander Williams."

"Gee thanks, I'll take that to heart, _Nineteen_," Ashley fought to keep her words from slurring together. "Dismissed."

She threw a salute and left, the soft clank echoing away.

/

"Really, Jack," Miranda smiled at the tattoos pacing through the Broker network room. "I'm sure I'm quite alright while on board."

"You think I'm going to stand the chance of someone coming in and taking you to whack off your arms too? No fucking way."

"You're going to pace a hole in the floor."

"Well it's boring in here! I don't know how Blue does it for so long. Where the hell is she?"

"It's my shift."

"You worked all night," Jack finally stopped moving and leaned against the wall.

"Not _all _night," she countered.

"I consider it all night when you don't actually come to bed afterwards, like a normal human fucking being," Jack smiled. "Shower and back to the damn computers."

"The shower wasn't all that bad, was it?" she raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"No…it was…dammit, I had a point in there," Jack replied huffily. "And now it's gone."

Miranda stood and walked around the desk, pulled Jack's hands into her own. "I know it's unnerving, but I can handle myself, alright?" she kissed her lightly. "Now stop pacing a hole in my damn floor and go help take inventory or something."

"Fine," Jack sighed, looking down to the contrast between their hands. Rough, scarred, and tattooed against smooth, delicately lethal skin. She laughed shortly.

"What?"

"Just thinking about shore leave when Shepard threw that awesome party."

"When she told us to kiss and get it over with?" Miranda grinned.

"Yeah…you know I didn't mean it when I told you I hated you then. Just had to throw it in for old times' sake."

Miranda backed up slightly, putting a hand to her chest. "Well your compliment about my tits was sincere, wasn't it?"

"You know it," she grinned.

"Then I suppose I forgive you," she leaned forward and kissed the jagged scar behind her ear that wrapped around the base of her skull. "I was serious about helping take inventory. Go do something," she started back to her desk.

"Too distracting?" Jack tilted her head up.

"Yes," Miranda waved her away. As she opened the door, she looked up. "Constructive. Do something _constructive_."

"When have I ever not been constructive?"

She laughed and Thirteen came up behind Jack.

"Oh! Hey, Thirteen," Jack squeezed her shoulder as she passed by. "I just got kicked out. I have to go be _constructive_."

Thirteen smiled as Jack left and she looked to Miranda. "Are you busy?"

"Just keeping up with the network here. Liara and I take shifts usually. But I can talk," she waved to an extra chair. "How are your amps?"

"Not too bad, I guess. Liara and Doctor Chakwas put me on mandatory biotic break for another day."

"Good. I was worried, you know. You weren't too far from not making it."

She nodded and sat forward in the chair. "There was something else I remembered. Shepard said you guys have a friend in the Alliance you can trust. James Vega. Said you would want to contact him. I went to Commander Williams and told her, but I figured I should tell someone else too."

"Vega! Why didn't I think of that before?!"

"He wouldn't know anything about…" she rubbed at her left pant leg absently. "About the black ops, but he could probably help with information that…you know, a gut feeling about a person or something."

"Wait…you went to Williams?"

Thirteen nodded.

"How did that go?"

"Ah…" she looked away and scratched at the hair on the right side of her head. "Didn't really. She's a little ass over tits drunk in the port side observation room."

Miranda shook her head. "She knows we'll be taking off within the day," she muttered. "What the hell is she thinking?"

"I just wanted to tell you," Thirteen pressed her hands together and stared at her forearm plates, her eyes darkening. "Guess I should go try and be constructive too," she stood and grinned.

"Don't forget about your check-up with Chakwas."

"Yes ma'am," she touched her forehead lightly with her index and middle finger. "And thanks. For listening."

"Of course," Miranda smiled. "I'll talk to you later, Thirteen."

/

_Liara jumped slightly as a familiar hand landed gently on the small of her back. She turned from her favorite view overlooking the lakes, sky cars buzzing quietly overhead._

_ "Are you sure you don't want to do something a little more exciting?" Shepard grinned, leaning against the rail._

_ "I love this part of the Presidium. It reminds me of where I grew up."_

_ Shepard frowned to herself. "I…I don't even know where that is…"_

_ "It's alright," Liara smiled. "We've always had other things on our minds…and more than a century of things to fill you in on takes some time."_

_ "Yeah…I'm kind of a dead beat girlfriend, aren't I?" she bit her lip and grinned. "So where was it?"_

_ "Armali, back on Thessia. My mother and I lived beside a park. I spent hours there."_

_ "Doing what?"_

_ Liara laughed slightly. "Reading…exploring…" she grinned and looked over at Shepard. "Getting in trouble digging for ruins in the grass."_

_ The Commander raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding."_

_ "I was very young!" Liara scuffed her hand along the rail._

_ "You know, that's actually pretty cute," her head tilted to the side. _

_ "No one else thought it was funny," Liara crossed her arms and turned her back to the rail. "The lecture my mother gave me! But…she did buy me my first history book the next day…" her eyes traveled to the woman grinning at her. She felt the weight of memories crashing over her. She looked away before the tears had a chance to sting her eyes. "I miss her, Shepard."_

_ She nodded her head and reached over, took her hand. "What was she like?"_

_ "She was…confident. And kind. She loved to wear yellow…" she turned to the overlook again. "I always thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Well now…" she looked to Shepard. "Perhaps she is second."_

_ "Perhaps, hm?" Shepard grinned and pulled her close. "Hard to beat the Asari in looks. I'll take it."_

_ Liara rested her head on Shepard's shoulder and sighed heavily. She felt the commander pull her in closer._

_ "You'll be okay, Liara."_

_ There was a soft brush of lips against her neck and she nodded. "Maybe you're right…thank you, Shepard."_

_ They stood motionless for a minute, the scientist breathing in the clean scent of the commander's N7 sweatshirt. It was beyond her as to how she could still look lethally imposing in near-civilian attire. How the shoulder she was on could hoist a rocket launcher, and yet, it seemed perfectly suited for the Asari's head as well._

_ "I wish we could spend more time together like this," Liara pulled back slightly and put her hand on Shepard's other shoulder._

_ "Whatever happens," she whispered, pressing their foreheads together, "I'd like to spend my life with you."_

_ "I suppose I could pencil you in," Liara grinned, her free hand tugging the commander's waist._

_ "I'll take it!" Shepard kissed her deeply._

_ When they pulled apart, Liara pushed a stray strand of hair from her forehead._

_ "Hey, if we have kids, they'll be one-eighth Krogan," her eyes lit up. "We have got to tell Grunt and Wrex! They'll be like the nutzoid Uncles our daughters never knew they wanted!"_

_ "Shepard," Liara laughed, taking her face in her hands. She shook her head at the roughish gleam in her eye._

_ "Maybe the headbutting gene skips a generation."_

_ "You are absolutely impossible."_

_ "It's my middle name."_

_ Liara kissed her lightly. "Yes. Yes, I suppose it is."_

Liara started at the beeping from her omni tool, bringing her back to the current Presidium view; now her favorite spot for different memories. She pulled up the vid link. "Edi?"

She nodded. "Yes," she looked to the side. "I believe we have a situation."

She grinned and rubbed her temple. "A situation or a _situation_? You do tend to make things sound rather—"

"Jeff and I are being detained for reasons unknown. You need to contact the commander and—" she looked away again briefly. "I have to go. Don't start back to the Normandy."

"Wait! Edi!"

The vid link shut off and Liara stared at the glowing orange for a moment before typing in the codes to connect to Ashley. It went to her messaging system.

"For the love of the Goddess," she muttered, trying for Garrus.

"Liara!" his face popped up. "Where have you been? You know Tali should be here in another hour or two. Figured maybe—"

"Garrus," she cut off his whimsical tone. "Something is wrong."

His face darkened. "What's going on?"

"Edi told me not to head back to the Normandy. She and Joker are being detained. It didn't seem like they wanted her calling anyone."

"That bastard Breach, I'll bet."

"I tried to contact Ashley but she didn't answer."

"I'll find her and we'll head out to clear this up. Get someplace where you can make a quick getaway to the ship. This might not end…diplomatically pretty."

"Be careful, Garrus."

"Stay frosty," he smirked.

She returned the smile. "Yes. Stay frosty. T'Soni out."

"Vakarian out."

/

"Traynor?" Garrus called as he entered the airlock and started for the CIC. Eezo bounded over and licked his leg. "Eegh," he pulled away. "I'll never understand why that's so endearing."

"Yes?" Samantha answered, looking up from a data pad.

"Any idea where Williams snuck off to?"

"She went down to deck three."

"Thank you."

"She was in a mood," Samantha added. "I tried asking her about comm set up if we do leave without official permission and she promptly told me to fuck off."

Garrus patted her shoulder on his way by. "Just make sure nobody can track us."

"Got it. Would you want us to allow official channels through if they wanted to contact us?"

He jabbed the elevator button and shook his head. "Let's leave them in the dark."

She nodded. "I'll start the configuration then."

"You always were pretty handy," he offered as he stepped in the elevator. "Remind me to get you a date the next time we're out on the town."

"I'll hold you to that!" she laughed as the doors shut.

Garrus nearly collided with Kasumi as he started out of the elevator. "Have you seen Williams?" he turned as they switched places.

She nodded and pointed down the hall.

"We might need you soon—where are you going?"

"Shuttle bay…though I would rethink taking Williams anywhere right now."

He nodded and continued to the observation deck. Ashley was sprawled on the couch. "Williams? We have a situation."

"Yesssss we do," she slurred, looking back. "We're shipping out soon! Cheers!"

"What the hell?!" He stormed over and shook her shoulders. "Are you drunk right now?"

"Drunk as'a skunk," she giggled.

"Great," he spat. "Just great."

"Wha's wrong?" she struggled into a more dignified sitting position.

"Joker, Edi, and Liara are currently stranded outside the docking bays. We have no idea what's going on."

"Gear up," she stood unsteadily. "We gotta' go get 'em."

"Sit your ass down," Garrus barked, pushing her shoulder.

"Insub…insubord…insubsordinsa…" Ashley's tongue fumbled in her mouth. "Insub…ordin…ation!"

"You're going to stay right there," he ordered, pointing. "I'm taking Goto and Jack."

"Jack's no'gonna' leave," she hiccupped. "Her Cerberus bitch is still on board."

"Williams, shut up."

Ashley crossed her arms and looked away.

"Spirits help me, I will kick you off this ship and leave you here," he growled. "We've had enough of whatever it is that crawled up your ass since Noveria. I was being reasonable on the bay," he started to the door. "Now I'm being practical. You're endangering your crew right now. Not to mention insulting someone who's saved my life more than once. You wear the Normandy name, so start acting like it."

/

"Yeah, see?" Jack pointed to the amps in Thirteen's back. "Way bigger than an adept like me or pure biotic like Blue. You see these things in anyone, you keep that fucker at a distance, you got it?" she was lecturing Grunt, Cortez, and Kasumi. "These are built for up close and big, brutal attacks. Normal amps are small, near the skull, seamless for mastery."

Garrus stomped toward the small lesson.

"You want to take vanguards out from a distance, because they will fuck you up if you get close."

"Jack! Kasumi!" Garrus called. "Gear up."

"What?" Jack turned.

Kasumi stood easily from her cross-legged position on the ground. "What's going on?"

"Joker and Edi are in trouble. Liara's alright but she's still on the Citadel."

"Where are they?" Jack started toward her armor locker.

"Unknown. Edi got Liara on vid call to warn her. I'm guessing not too far, if they were trying to get back to the ship."

"Ah," Kasumi crossed her arms. "That's where I come in."

"Figure you're the first choice," Garrus smiled. "We never were good with subtle before, but I figure we could try our hand at it now."

"I was always a bit…underwhelmed at how we would always wind up guns a'blazing," Kasumi started toward Garrus with light, nearly nonexistent footsteps. "Never got to show my true skill except when we were taking down Hock. This will be fun."

Jack stuck her pistol at her hip and checked her submachine gun before nodding. "Let's go."

"Just like old times," Garrus mused.

"You could probably stop saying old times," Jack pushed his shoulder. "Soon as we get Shepard back it'll be like this big fucking weird ass family never got torn apart."

"Well," Kasumi offered as they stepped on the elevator, "as soon as Ashley stops being such an ass hat."

Garrus looked over. "Ass hat? What…did you get that from Shepard?"

"Thirteen. Colonist recruits have the greatest sayings, don't they?"


	6. Chapter 6

Edi glanced around the room, taking mental, meticulous notes about the faces around her. She and Joker occupied the only two, hard seats. "I don't understand the nature of our detainment," she sighed, leaning back in the uncomfortable chair. "It is unlike the Alliance to hold people for no good reason."

"No," Joker held up a finger, "no they did that to Shepard!"

"You are correct," she raised an eyebrow. "So I guess it should have been expected."

"Okay, cut the bullshit," the man who seemed to be in charge put his thick hands on his waist. "We know you picked something up on Noveria. It belongs to the Alliance."

Edi shifted in her seat. "Really? The model ship Grunt found must be even more valuable than Doctor T'Soni initially estimated."

"For the five hundredth time," Joker sighed. "We didn't pick anything up off that piece of shit."

"All we found were ruins," Edi added.

"Your communications to the Alliance never indicated you were planning on investigating anything there."

Edi stared at him for a long moment, her mind racing. No, they hadn't. They had investigated Cerberus leads on their own, but official missions still went through Alliance…confidential…channels. Breach must have informed them and tried to take care of the matter on his own with formalities earlier. "What is your rank?"

"Captain. What's it to you?"

"Strange that a captain should know of our top-priority clearance reports."

The captain's eyes narrowed and he nodded to Joker. One of his men stepped forward and kicked at his ankle.

Joker's face screwed in pain and his face drained of color.

"He seems fragile."

"Jeff!" Edi leaned over but the captain reached out and grabbed her arm roughly. "That…was a mistake," she said calmly, her eyes fixing on his face.

"Where is it?"

"We didn't pick up anything," Joker wheezed through his pain.

"The Alliance doesn't like their things stolen," the captain growled.

"Don't like it when your matching sets aren't all there?" Edi asked.

"Kick his knee," he ordered.

"No! No, wait!" Joker held out a hand, but the lights flickered and shut out in the windowless room.

"Dammit—what the hell? Get those things back on! I want—"

There was a blue flash and electrical buzz.

"AAaaaghhhh!" the captain screamed. "Put that thing down!"

"Where'd she go?"

"Where the hell—AAGH!"

/

"Always a pleasure doing business with the Alliance," Kasumi said cheerfully to the man slumped at his computer as she picked a credit chit easily from his side pocket.

"Don't you think someone will notice?" Jack asked as they passed the desk. They were in a side-office of the Alliance at the docking bays near security. Kasumi's scans showed several interior interrogation rooms in a second level with priority access.

"He'll wake up in a few minutes," she answered. "Won't remember a thing. Now. Where are they?" she pulled up her omni tool again. "Looks like they're downstairs. No surprise."

"Any guards?" Garrus looked over her shoulder to the three dimensional display.

"None that I can pick up," she started down a hallway.

"I don't like it," Garrus said, typing a code into his omni tool.

"Garrus?" Liara's voice came from his arm. "Have you found them?"

"Not yet. Something smells funny about this. I know I said keep your head down, but try and get back to the Normandy. Pull whatever cards you have left about being Shepard's girlfriend to try and speed your way past security. Avoid Alliance."

"I'll try."

"Alright. Vakarian out."

"T'Soni out."

Kasumi started hacking a terminal near a door that read 'JANITORIAL'.

"They're in the janitor's closet?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"When was the last time you ran into a janitor's closet with military grade encryption like this?" she looked over her shoulder briefly and took a deep breath. "Aaaah the feeling of hacking Alliance hardware. I knew it'd be worth the trip out here to steal on board. You guys always do the fun stuff."

"Why aren't there any guards?" Garrus looked around.

"Probably thought nobody would figure out about it," Jack offered.

"But there's no one here," he continued, waving around. "Haven't even seen someone with a datapad cart going to someone's office. This isn't right."

"We're in!" Kasumi announced, pushing the door in to a stairwell.

"Alright," Garrus pulled his rifle from his back. "Weapons hot. This is all wrong."

"Trigger fingers itching?" Kasumi asked, leading the way with her airy step. She held her pistol loosely. "Because I think it's a nice change so far."

/

"Grunt…" Thirteen looked over at him from studying a datapad in her hands, pictures of Earth restoration projects splashed across the screen. "How many personnel are on board right now?"

"Hmm…" he looked over to Cortez. "Me and you and Cortez…Lawson, Doctor Chakwas, and Traynor are upstairs. Williams is up there, too. I dunno. We run the ship without too many extras."

"Seven," Thirteen muttered. "Well…six. The Commander is…incapacitated at the moment."

"Why?" he finally lifted his head from the weapons bench.

Thirteen's eyes widened. "Distract and entrap. Shit," she started running to the elevator. "You keep that bay door closed!"

Cortez frowned. "Everything okay?"

"Grab a weapon and stay frosty," she shouted from the elevator.

Grunt hefted his shotgun. "I like her!"

"What was she babbling about distract and entrap?" Cortez asked, yanking an assault rifle from the weapon locker.

"It sounds efficient, whatever it is."

/

"Traynor?" Thirteen pressed the communication button in the elevator. "Traynor? This is Thirteen. Come in! Traynor!" she hit the button again, cutting off the line before trying another line. "Shit. Oh fucking shit."

"Thirteen, you really do have a mouth."

"Doctor!" she rushed. "Get in that storage room behind the bay and seal the door!"

"What? Why would—"

"Do it!"

"So pushy! Okay! I'm going. Oh…there's a man out there…I don't think he saw me."

Thirteen cut off the line as the light showed the elevator was at the deck.

The door opened to a rifle in her face. "On the ground."

"Didn't your mother teach you any manners?" Thirteen put her hands behind her back. The blade silently slid down.

"On the ground!"

She whirled and her left arm shot out. It sliced through his armor and his stomach. Before he could scream, she continued her spin, blades from her shin folding out, ripping two long slits at where her calf would be in her pant leg, and caught his head with a sickening thud. She tugged her leg free and grabbed his gun. "You say please, mother fucker."

She heard something beeping from his arm.

"Travern. Travern, you find anything down there?"

Thirteen looked around the corner from the elevator and jumped as the door closed, heading up a level. "Shit fucking whore ass bitches!" she exploded, heading to the observation lounge.

/

"Got her, Captain!"

The captain struggled off the floor in the dark and felt a boot connect with his chin. "Dammit, why aren't the lights back on?!" he roared.

"Tracking hostiles, Captain. Looks to be three, headed right for us."

"Where the hell is everyone?"

"Not…no…but…Breach said this was the primary…"

"That lying son of a bitch! Weapons hot!"

/

Ashley was slammed to the floor off the couch. "Shit! What'th hell…" she looked over and pushed Thirteen away roughly. "Finally turn on me, Cyborg?"

"Shhh," she hissed, dropping to her stomach.

"No! My ship, I tell you whadda' do!" she rolled away and started to push off the ground.

"No!" Thirteen dropped the gun and grabbed Ashley's collar roughly. "You are going to shut your drunk, ass-hatted self up for _one_ fucking second, because right now we are in enemy territory, you hear me, soldier?" her voice was steely. Ashley's eyes widened. This was the girl…the woman…from The War. This was an Alliance Spec Ops soldier. "Call Miranda now."

"I'll take you—"

"You pull up your goddamn omni-fucking-tool _right _now, or I will rip your arm off and do it myself!"

Ashley pulled her arm up and typed in the correct code. "Lawson?"

"Command—"

"Seal the door!" Thirteen barked. "Seal your door now!"

"Understood," Miranda's voice came back. It was cool, collected. "What's going on?"

Thirteen and Ashley both looked toward the door at the sound of voices in the hall. "Gotta go," she whispered, reaching over and hitting end on the voice call. "Are you going to be in the way or can you fight?" Thirteen asked Ashley seriously.

"You or them?" she asked testily, adrenaline surging through her, clearing her head somewhat. She could fight.

"You're an asshole, Commander," Thirteen pushed the gun to her. "Good."

Ashley checked the thermal clip. "Don't have too many shots left."

"Then I'm glad you don't need them," Thirteen whispered as clunking footsteps approached the door. "Orders?"

"Knock those fuckers off balance first," Ashley murmured.

Thirteen grinned. "Balls to the walls. Ten-four."

/

Liara looked over the shoulder of the C-Sec desk attendant. The shuttle bay door was lowering. Slowly. Very slowly. Like it didn't want to. There was a squad of Alliance members waiting on the bay. "Um…I need to…ah…" she looked back to the attendant. "I really need to get over there."

"I know," she sighed, typing at her computer. "All this takes a minute, okay?"

Liara felt the discomfort growing in her stomach.

"I'm sorry…it looks like you aren't cleared right now," she started turning to view the Normandy but Liara reached out quickly and grabbed her shoulder.

"No, um, you see…I'm Liara T'Soni…and…the ship…" she tried to keep her eyes from straying to the shuttle bay door having issues opening. "You see, the Commander and I…the ship means a great deal to me. I was heading back because…uh…the um…"

"Oh…oh no…don't cry!"

"What?" Liara looked back to the attendant. "Oh, yes. No! I mean no, I'm not going to cry, you see, I just…" her eyes, like a magnets, were being drawn back to the shuttle door opening. It was almost three quarters of the way there. "I mean it's coming up on two years and um...at the memorial we...it…"

What was she saying? She went back to London to remember Shepard the year before. The memorial had been in London. She had planned on going back every year, to say a prayer and leave flowers and a note buried in the dirt along with the hundreds of thousands of others.

"Well, I like to spend my time aboard the…" she couldn't help her face screwing in confusion as the fight with the door went on. "Aboard the door…"

"The door?"

"The ship! The ship and I was hoping to open the door…ah…I mean the um…" Liara stopped as the door folded down completely and the squad went rushing in. "I really must be going, so sorry!" she threw a stasis field around the attendant and reached over the desk to buzz herself through.

/

"Ready men!" the Captain whirled around, trying to remember where the door was.

A brilliant white rectangle opened on a wall and the weapons turned to it.

"What the hell! There's nobody the—unnh."

"Well!" Kasumi's voice came from behind the soldier slumping over. "This isn't the lady's room."

The guns turned to her but she was already vanished in her tactical cloak again.

Garrus and Jack swung into the doorway.

"Fly, bitch!" Jack shouted, blue wrapping around the Captain and throwing him out the door. The gunfire was nearly deafening in the small space. In the blasts, Jack could see Edi pulling Joker into a corner of the room, away from the bullets. "Oh shit!" Jack's gun jammed, overheated.

The last man grinned, blood spattered across his features, as he raised his gun to her.

"Surprise!" an omni blade exploded through his chest, blood coating the glowing orange. He fell forward and Kasumi nonchalantly started typing something onto it. The lights finally flickered on. "You just had to have your firefight, didn't you?"

"Jack?"

Jack looked down to her omni tool. It had started a voice call without her consent.

"Jack they're here," Miranda's voice came over the line. "They're on the ship."

"Oh hell!" Garrus looked over to Edi struggling to help Joker up. "We'll be there as soon as we can, Lawson. Are you safe?"

"So far. They're trying to hack the door…not much longer until they put some blasting charges on it."

"I'm coming back!" Jack shouted, already turning to the hall again.

"Jack wait!" Garrus' voice hit her back as she started running.

"Go," Kasumi waved to him. "We'll catch up."

/

Thirteen took a deep breath, cheek against the floor, looking under the couch. Blue started curling up her arm, across her shoulders. The door slid open and she popped up, her arm shooting forward. The shockwave knocked back the six men at the door. "Now!" she shouted. There were another few behind them, starting for the Broker office.

Ashley stood and took careful aim. Bang. One down. Bang. Two.

Thirteen jumped over the couch and dove forward, her blade going through one man's neck. She pulled him back onto her and used his body as a shield for a moment, stepping back a few feet as his blood bucketed over her shoulder. She let the body slide away and her arms pulled back, biotics flaring across her body.

Bang.

She charged forward, blade outward. She felt someone's arm catch before she rammed into a man near the rear of the group. Her left arm shot down, spearing through his chest before he could struggle up again.

"There she is! That's the one!"

Bang.

Ashley instinctively went to reload until she realized she was out of clips. "Shit!" she ducked behind the couch as bullets started zinging in, ripping apart the couch. "Dammit! Why can't I have freaky blue powers?!" she shouted.

/

"Hahahahaaaa!" Grunt roared, charging for another soldier. He went flying halfway across the shuttle bay as Grunt's head connected with his middle. "Worthless!"

A lone figure sprinted up from the shuttle bay door.

"Liara!" Cortez shouted, peering out from cover. "Get the doors shut again! We'll cover you!"

Grunt blasted a hole through the chest of a man about to open fire on Liara. "Yes we will!"

Liara wove between the crates to an override console. She could see more soldiers pouring from the farthest security checkpoint. Garrus and Jack veered into the open and turned.

"Eat shit!" she heard from Jack as she kicked out. It looked as though a long, thin mat of biotic energy spilled forward. The reinforcements all tripped and fell over themselves.

Garrus kept running and hopped onto the bay door as it started closing. "Jack!" he shouted.

"Gotta keep it clear for the three assholes not here yet!" she replied, sending out a shockwave, toppling more men.

"Dammit…" he turned as a bullet ricocheted off his shields. A neat shot through his head stopped any further attempts. "Who's down here?" he shouted. "Sound off!"

"Cortez! Taking heavy fire near the elevator!"

"I…am…KROGAN!"

"I'm overriding the door," Liara called.

"Well, once you do that, I don't see why we can't all have a party upstairs with Lawson," Garrus said, beginning to stride toward the elevator, his rifle raised. He fired of three quick shots. "There are a few trying to get to her."

/

Miranda covered her ears, anticipating the blast of the metal door being blown apart. There was a steel clank against the door and a grunt. The sound of someone slamming into it. The voices started shouting, confused, scattered. She poked her eyes over the edge of the desk, debating on whether or not to open the door. One of the terminals flickered to life.

"Miranda?"

"Tali?" she looked over, surprise spilling from her voice.

"Jack is holding off a wave of Alliance members and I see Joker limping toward the ship with Edi…should I be worried? Oh…and it may be nothing, but there is a C-Sec desk attendant in a stasis field nearby."

"Anything else?" Miranda breathed a sigh of relief, smiling.

"It's good to see you, my dear cheerleader bosh'tet. Oh, and I bought a new suit mod yesterday for cold weather but no, nothing else interesting…is that shooting I hear?"

"Don't you feel welcomed home?" she grinned.

Tali sighed heavily. "I'll be right in."

/

Ashley picked up a dropped thermal clip and reloaded her gun. "I'm going to check and make sure no one got any ideas about the main battery," she said, staring at the four corpses near the Broker network office. Thirteen was panting. Her biotics had proven deadly but taxing. Sweat dripped from her nose; blood flecked her face, drenched her shirt. "Get that goo off the door. I don't want any holes in my ship."

"Yes ma'am," she took her blade and started scraping off the explosive paste as Ashley made her way past the cryogenic chambers. There was a choking, gurgling laugh. Thirteen turned.

One of the men on the floor had the detonator in his hand. "They weren't kidding when they said you were one of the best," blood escaped his mouth with his consonants. "Too bad I'm better."

There was a silenced gunshot and Thirteen blinked. The detonator rolled from his lifeless grip. She looked up.

Tali tilted her head to the side. "Well hello. In person."

Thirteen straightened, throwing a salute. "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. An honor, ma'am. Sorry about the mess."

Jack and Samantha rounded the corner. "Damn," Jack whistled. "Thirteen and Williams were really cleaning house down here.

"There were only three upstairs after they sent the rest after you," Samantha said.

The elevator doors opened again and Garrus, Grunt, Liara, and Cortez spilled out, weapons up.

"Tali!" Garrus flung his hands up. "Welcome home!"

"Get ready for a bumpy ride!" Joker's voice came over the intercom. "Busting out in three…two…"

Everyone was thrown to the floor as a massive jolt moved the floor under them.

"Once we're out of the Widow system, can we space these bodies?" he continued.

"Yeah," Ashley called, making her way back from the battery. "And no meeting until we're all cleaned up. That's an order," she looked at Thirteen's blood-covered shirt, the bloody left pant leg. Something goopy stuck near the end of one of her shin blades. She didn't want to think about it. Her eyes landed on the Alliance uniform, the man dead on the floor in it. Her shot right between his eyes.

Her stomach flipped.

She didn't want to think about it.


	7. Chapter 7

_As always, thanks so much for the follows!  
This chapter has a lot of sentimental character fluff...let me know if you hate it. Otherwise I'll just assume it's alright. :)  
(PS: It's also a bit on the long end.)  
(PPS: Author out)_

* * *

Thirteen walked stiffly into the med bay after they had spaced the bodies, scrubbed the CIC, crew deck, and shuttle bay, and the rest of the crew had gone to clean up in their rooms. It turned out they hadn't waited until they were completely out of the Widow system.

"How are you feeling?" Chakwas asked. "Shirt off, I need to check those amps."

She obeyed and pulled off the shirt, stiff with dry blood, to the tank top underneath. Blood had seeped through and blotted it in dark red splotches. She flinched as the doctor prodded around her amp nodes.

"Impressive. Minimal inflammation, even after all that."

The door opened again and Ashley stood there, blood-spattered fatigues still on. "Called the meeting for eleven tonight. Should be about two hours after we hit the relay."

Chakwas nodded. "I'll arrange check-ups for the crew before then."

"Thank you, Doctor," she turned and left.

She shook her head. "She should be thanking you…oh, I've forgotten to mention to you—those dog tags you had around your neck…they're in the drawer over there."

"From Noveria?"

She nodded.

Her steps to the drawer were slow, and her right hand shook as she lifted the chain, heavy with six extra dog tags. They'd only gotten one, not the standard two. Thirteen looked over blankly. "That storage bay back there has a shower too, doesn't it?"

"Yes…it's mostly a medical supply room along with a private bathroom. I think it was supposed to be fitted into an actual room, but I certainly didn't want to sleep where I work."

Thirteen started for the door.

"Don't you need a towel and change of clothes?"

She continued her uneven shuffle into the room without an answer, tags clinking together in her right hand, matching the sound of her left foot.

/

"You see where being constructive gets me?" Jack said in her and Miranda's room. She toweled off her hair and tossed the square fabric onto the bed, yanking on a pair of ripped jeans.

"What?" came Miranda's voice from the shower.

"You see where being constructive gets me?" she repeated louder, rifling through the small dresser.

"I thought it went rather well! Kasumi and Grunt are now near-experts on two amp-types!"

"Not the point!" she pulled on a fraying-at-the-seams black t-shirt and flopped onto the bed, stared at the ceiling for several minutes until she heard the water shut off. "Hey," she propped herself up on her elbows, "Thirteen seemed kinda' shaken up earlier."

Miranda appeared in the doorway wrapped in a towel. She motioned for the smaller one on the bed and Jack tossed it to her. "I know," she pulled her hair into the white cotton and sat next to Jack. "God, it's only been what…four days? We haven't given her much time to process anything."

"Welcome to the Normandy, right?" Jack laced her fingers behind her head. "Did we ever find out how long she was on Noveria?"

Miranda shook her head. "We only know what Liara told us," she paused and looked at Jack. "All she's done is give us information to help us find Shepard…that's all we've asked for…" she bit absently at a nail.

Jack moaned and put her hands over her eyes. "We're such shitty people. Shepard always made it down to engineering to check on my sorry ass…you'd think I'd take a page out of her book! No! For fuck's sake…" she rolled onto her side, away from Miranda. "Thirteen was dying on us and she made sure I knew where we would have to go for Shepard. Then she told you and Blue. She really didn't think she was going to make it…" she rubbed her face. "She really didn't…and she kept muttering Terra fucking Nova desert…" she turned back to her lover. "Who the fuck sets up on the Terra Nova equator anyway? That's a shitty place," she shifted closer to Miranda and laid her head on her lap. "If…if my head gets sunburnt when we go to that stupid base, I'm gonna' fucking take Thirteen's arm and chop Shepard's ass off with it."

"Dinner is in an hour," Miranda pointed out, running her fingers lightly through Jack's hair. "Maybe we can make up for it."

"How are we supposed to make anything up to the kid who willingly saved the asshole that keeps calling her a cyborg?"

The alarm clock to the side of their bed beeped.

"I don't know," Miranda took Jack's hand and kissed her fingers lightly. "But it's time for your check up."

"Awwww fuck!" Jack turned dramatically, flinging her arm over her face. "I don't want to go!"

"Jennifer…" Miranda fixed her with a glare as soon as she peered out from under the crook of her arm.

"Fine," she grunted, rolling off the bed and pulling on her boots. "But I'm not going to be fucking happy about it."

/

Ashley stared down at the drink in her hand. She had showered and was in clean fatigues, hair falling slightly damp to her shoulders. She turned to the window and debated sitting on the bullet hole riddled couch. She opted for a bar stool.

"You know, Ashley—"

She jumped at Tali's voice.

"—if you keep drinking like that, we'll have to have an intervention. Do you know what those entail?"

"No booze?" she raised an eyebrow and slid the cup onto the counter.

"Feelings. Lots of feelings."

"Ick," she grinned. "I'd take the Reapers again any day over that."

"I know."

"So you met our newest pet?"

"Jack showed me Eezo over a year ago…or are you referring to the woman who is practically single-handedly taking us back to Shepard?"

Ashley turned on the bar seat. "Doesn't that bother you? One kid with all that information…"

"She may be a kid to us, but she's no child," Tali crossed her arms. "I saw you earlier. You were completely drunk. Perhaps you did focus for several minutes, but if Thirteen hadn't warned you when she did…" she shook her head.

"How do you know she warned me?"

"I asked her," she shrugged. "It was a very curious thing…she came out of the back storage room in the med bay soaking wet—clothes and everything—didn't say a word until I asked about what happened."

"What did she say?"

"She said she came up from the shuttle bay, warned you, and that was pretty much when the fighting started…she was very vague about the entire thing."

"I could have handled it."

"I don't think so."

"Oh, so you're on Nineteen's side now?"

"It's Thirteen."

"She killed six of her people. Makes her Nineteen in my book."

Tali shook her head and sat next to Ashley at the bar, moving the cup of pink to the far end. "You could at least say thank you."

"I could have _handled it_," Ashley repeated, suddenly wishing Tali hadn't blocked access to the drink.

"Like you're handling it now?" she shot back. "Keelah, Ashley! Garrus told me about needing you on the Citadel. You realize you let your team down?"

"If I go thank the science freak show, will you get off my case?"

"Do you know who is to blame for that 'science freak show'? Hm?" Tali leaned forward and tapped the counter. "It's the Alliance, Ashley. Like it or not, take it or leave it. You not believing that isn't going to change it. The Alliance made a mistake and they partnered with Cerberus and now it's a bigger mistake. And good soldiers like Thirteen are caught in the middle of it."

"I trust the Alliance!" Ashley barked, jumping up and pacing to the window.

"And in the grand scheme of things, that's good. The ones we're dealing with…they're like an infected limb. We have to stop it before it goes higher than the Breach guy Miranda told me about."

"And partnering with the Cerberus fan girl."

Tali took the drink and deftly poured it back into its container. "Garrus was right. You're not yourself. We have a meeting in several hours, Williams, and you should be focused and competent for it."

Ashley flinched at the ice in Tali's voice surrounding her last name.

"You owe us that much."

She listened to her footsteps retreating out of the lounge and put her hands on her head. She had a hell of a headache. James Vega would be the next logical step, as much as she hated to admit it. She would need more information from Thirteen. She pulled up her omni tool and started a voice call to Liara.

"Commander?"

"Could you and the cyborg meet me in the port observation lounge?"

"You need to stop calling her that."

"Could you and our stowaway meet me in the lounge, then?" she rephrased.

"We're all stowaways at this point."

"You're really going to make me do this?"

"I really am."

Ashley straightened. "Bring her here. That's an order."

There was a pause. "Understood. T'Soni out."

/

Liara opened the door to her room to see Miranda exiting from the one across the hall. "It's about time we didn't sleep in our office, don't you think?" she smiled as they started toward the CIC.

Miranda pushed her hands into her black cardigan's pockets. "You don't miss waking up to fifteen absolutely urgent messages?" she laughed.

"I probably am getting soft," Liara folded her arms over the familiar N7 sweatshirt. It was Shepard's. "I lay in bed ten minutes before I decide to get up."

"I think we've earned ourselves an extra ten minutes in bed before the day," Miranda sighed as the door to the CIC room opened.

"Do you ever wonder why we didn't retire?" Liara paused before heading to the bridge.

Miranda stopped and put a hand to her cheek. "Do we really seem like the civilian type, T'Soni?"

"Perhaps."

"Maybe someday," Miranda smiled and hit the elevator button. "I'm going to the office."

Liara nodded and continued to the bridge.

"Hey, Liara!" Joker's seat turned. "Going really old school with hijacking the Normandy… again."

She smiled. "Shepard would be so proud."

"So what's up?"

"I was actually here for Edi."

She turned.

"Could you integrate with the ship and tell me where Thirteen is?"

"Of course…" Edi pressed her hands to the console behind her display lights.

Liara shook her head. It never ceased to amaze her. Edi had learned that after the synthesis, she still retained knowledge of internal AI functions…one of which being to integrate with the ship. She said that after intense, focused training, any former organic would be able to do it within a number of years. Her estimates for the majority of the population having the ability sat somewhere around two hundred years. She had shown Liara the basis of integrating, but the information had overwhelmed her and she'd decided to let Edi have the monopoly of integration for quite some time.

Edi blinked and took her hands from the console. "She is currently in the sub-deck of engineering."

"Thank you," Liara squeezed her shoulder.

/

Liara picked her way over the tools scattering the stairs to the sub-deck. It was in the middle of being fitted for two more rooms. The bathrooms weren't working yet. "Thirteen?" she called. She rounded the corner to find her on the floor, still in her clothes from earlier; the tank-top a dingy rust-color, the pant leg ripped at her shin plates. She was staring at a hand full of dog tags. "Thirteen?" she repeated softly, kneeling.

Her hand shifted, showing Liara the metal tags in her left hand. There was gold glinting from underneath one. Was it a ring?

She reached over and closed her hand around the girl's. "We…haven't given you much time to…" Liara shifted and sat next to her. "I'm sorry."

"Am I needed to report?" she asked quietly, eyes staring vacantly at the blue hand over the cybernetics.

"We don't have to go right now."

Thirteen nodded. "But we should go soon."

"If you need time…" Liara looked at her profile; the pink scars above her ear under the stubble that had started on her head.

"I need to get you to Shepard," she made a move as though to stand, but Liara gripped her forearm plating.

"We're heading to Terra Nova as we speak. Giving us more information right now won't make the ship fly faster. It's still the fastest one in the fleet…even though we're hardly considered official Alliance anymore…even before our little um…escapade today."

She blinked and lowered her head.

"Would you…want to show me?"

She turned toward her slightly. "You don't want to know."

"Please," Liara moved so she was kneeling in front of her again. "You're helping me find the most important person in my life. Let me help you."

Thirteen nodded almost imperceptibly.

_Confused, fuzzy._

_ Alliance man, blade through his chest. Normandy walls. Freezing water dumped over her head from the shower, blood ran down the drain. Alliance man, blade through his chest. Cold water. Ice cold._

_ Ice._

_ Ice melting under a pool of blood. Dark, crew-cut hair. Honey-colored eyes._

_ He looked down surprised._

_ A tormented scream cut through the bitter, biting air. It was Thirteen. "Bronx!" she cried. "No!"_

_ Blade through his stomach—just below his sternum bone. He sank to his knees as Thirteen's blade retracted in and she supported his weight from falling to the ground._

_ Warm, sticky red on her hands._

_ "Three," he blinked owlishly. His nickname for her._

_ "Dammit, Bronx, no," she put her head on his shoulder. "What about Rio?" her teeth were chattering. Tears froze on her cheeks. Steam poured from his middle. "You can't…it's just me and Nine left now…please, Bronx…think about Rio…about…"_

_ "Take care of them," he managed to wrap his huge, burly arms around her. "Hey…Three…"_

_ She felt bile in her throat. "Yeah?"_

_ "I always told…them I'd…never go on…my knees."_

_ Williams in the port lounge. Smell of alcohol._

_ Pain seared up Thirteen's right leg as she braced herself and started lifting him. Raw air ripped at her throat, stung her face._

_ "You counting the missions where you killed your friends?"_

_ Bronx choked on his smile. Blood bubbled from his mouth as his hand weakly squeezed her shoulder._

_ "No, ma'am."_

_ "Didn't let them…take me…" he spluttered. "Did right…by me…best sister…I…never had…"_

_ "Love you, brother," she managed before his weight toppled them both over. She pressed her forehead to his chest._

_ Electronic buzzer. A savage, rattling, tortured moan from Thirteen._

_ Dark, short hair, honey-colored eyes. His big, calloused hand reached out for another young woman's. She wore a simple dress._

_ Alcohol. "You counting the missions where you killed your friends?"_

_ Shepard stood in front of the two. She smiled. Bronx and the girl smiled._

_ "No, ma'am."_

_ Thirteen's bloody fingers reached numbly to Bronx's left hand. "Rio…" she murmured. "I'm sorry."_

_ "So should I call you Nineteen?"_

_ His large, protecting body. Broken. Freezing on the ground. Alliance soldier. Through the chest. The Normandy. Cold water. Ice cold._

Tears streamed down Liara's face as she broke away from the racing, nightmarish memory. She could feel fractions of Thirteen's emotions and they hung heavy at her shoulders. "Goddess…" she whispered.

Her brown eyes flicked up, distant. "I killed them all like that."

"No," Liara pulled her into a hug and felt her begin to shake. "You saved them, Thirteen," she murmured, running her hand over the light stubble on her head.

Her cry cracked the air in half. A broken, hoarse, agonized sob that ripped from her throat.

"You can cry now," Liara whispered. "You can cry."

/

Ashley threw her hands up as Liara's omni tool went to her messaging system again. "Edi!" she shouted. She stood at the galaxy map.

"Yes?" her voice came from the intercom.

"Where is T'Soni and where is the cyborg?"

There was a pause. "I respect their privacy at the moment."

"Yeah, well I ordered them to the port lounge half an hour ago. The ship's big but it doesn't take brains to get the robot and get back," Ashley replied coldly. She waited for a retaliation, but there was none. "By now we'll have to wait until after dinner."

"Then I suggest that is what you do."

Ashley stormed down the galaxy map stairs to the elevator. "Nobody will cooperate on this damn ship," she muttered, jabbing the button.

"You're the one being difficult," Edi's voice offered.

"Yeah, it's not my fault we're blindly following some lab rat with a thing in…her head…" her words tapered off as something dawned on her. She pressed the button for deck three.

/

Jack leaned over the mess hall counter, watching Garrus shake something into a large pot of soup. "So your dextro non-dextro whatever the hell it is thing isn't going to kill us, is it?"

"If I was going to kill you," he looked over his shoulder and smirked, "I would have done it a long time ago."

"Yeah? Well good, because it fucking smells nice!" Jack replied.

"A compliment?" Garrus put his hand to his chest. "I'll have to write that one in my diary."

"Write it in a history book, Vakarian," Jack laughed.

"I will. Right next to where I single-handedly defeated the reapers. Vega helped a little."

"Hey!" she hit the counter top. "What about me?"

"I guess I could mention you were off somewhere picking daisies or something."

"Daisies?" she wrinkled her nose.

"You know what?" he shifted the soup to a different burner and turned. "It's my history book so you're going to be picking some damn daisies!"

"I'm going to write my own history book and I won't even put you in it!" Jack countered, grinning.

"But…but I'm one of your pretty people," Garrus touched his mandibles briefly. "How dare you starve future generations of my devilishly good looks?" he reached under the counter and pressed a button. "Chow is ready!" he announced.

Miranda stretched as she exited the Broker office and smiled. "It smells good, Garrus."

"You all seem so surprised," he pulled the pot to the counter with a grunt. "I'm not sure if I should be flattered or offended."

"Flattered," Kasumi materialized with a bowl in her hands. "Always be flattered."

"Hey!"

The crew members turned at Ashley's voice.

"Lawson," she waved her toward the office again.

"Can't it wait?" Jack asked.

"Dinner is done early, she can wait," Ashley replied, striding into the office.

Miranda sighed and shrugged, then followed. "What can I do for you, Commander?" she asked as soon as the door closed.

"Are they tracking the cyborg?" Ashley leaned against a desk.

"What?"

"Are they tracking the cyborg?" she repeated, raising her eyebrows. "We know she's got some sort of control thing in her head—they have to have a way of tracking her. If that's the case, we need to ditch her."

"Wow," Miranda put her hand to her head. "You know, I actually thought you had gained a few humanity points earlier…I was correct in assuming it wasn't you who initiated the call to me when we were being ambushed, then?"

"Of course I initiated the call. Does that thing even have an omni tool?"

Miranda could feel the sleep deprivation weaving its way into her frustrated words. "Stop calling her that. And no, she doesn't. Not anymore. She ditched it sometime after The War and before she met us. You would know that's how they would track her. Her military hardware."

"No, I don't know anything when it comes to the heap of scrap metal she is."

"Okay," Miranda crossed her arms. "I'll play your way. The Alliance doesn't track soldiers."

"Exactly. I'm saying Cerberus—"

"But Thirteen and her friends weren't just any soldiers. They were scrubbed from all military records—recruitment files gone, achievements nonexistent. Just as thoroughly as Kasumi has wiped herself from any kind of records anywhere."

"She's a kid still. What military achievements could have possibly happened?"

"So assuming the Alliance _did_ want to track her and the others they had in whatever initiative it was, we go with omni tool. Vital on the battlefield," she continued, not stopping to answer her question. "Once they go rogue and save Shepard, they destroy them. Chips on the ground, smash them…they're invisible."

"Why the thing in her head?"

Miranda had, of course, gone over the possibilities of Thirteen being tracked. A scan from Chakwas had alleviated her fears, after they had changed her amps. Nothing was transmitting from her body.

"They knew we were heading to the Citadel and they knew we had her, from what Joker and Edi said. How do you explain that?"

"During Thirteen's imprisonment, they were testing her limbs, obviously, for cybernetic integration, _and_ her biotic vanguard abilities. The reason the amps were fried was because there was something extra in them—not designed to be there."

"So she _was_ being tracked."

"Through a chip in one of her amps. I'm guessing they changed the amps frequently due to the tracker's effects on them. It would also prevent successful escape on her own. If she had managed to get out, she would have died from the overloaded amps. At any rate, it's gone and you have nothing to worry about. Besides, with the synthesis, putting a passive chip like that in someone, it would eventually integrate with them and the signal would be lost."

"The thing in her head, Lawson. What about that?"

She sighed and shook her head. "A thorough enough job of reward-punishment commands to the brain could set up automatic blocks like that. The Alliance obviously put them in. Perhaps nano technology before the synthesis? Whatever it is, it's benign. So you can also stop worrying that she's going to receive a kill-code and come after you in the middle of the night. She has free reign over her thoughts, she just can't voice them when it comes to the classified information. They were saving their own asses."

Ashley seemed to process the information and nodded. "You had a pretty good answer."

"I've done my research," Miranda snapped, crossing her arms. "Are you done interrogating me, Williams?"

"Dismissed."

Miranda whirled and continued back to the mess hall, fists clenched at her sides, her step still light. Williams would not get the better of her. After grabbing a bowl of soup, Jack motioned her over. She was across from Tali, her face plate off, and Thirteen. The dark circles under the girl's eyes seemed to be slightly darker and Miranda felt her medical training kicking in as she sat down. "When was the last time you slept, Thirteen?"

"Last night," she answered, grinning.

"Well you look like absolute shit," she returned the smile.

"Yeah," Jack laughed, "she had to save your ass earlier!"

Miranda rubbed her forehead. The past two days were blurring together. She didn't have time to sleep.

"When's the last time you slept?" Thirteen asked, waving at her with her spoon.

"I'm fine," she insisted.

"Two nights ago," Jack offered cheerfully.

"I have a lot of information to look through," Miranda countered, looking between the two. "I'm fine."

Garrus plopped a bowl down next to Tali. "Yes, taking compliments for the chef now," he announced, raising his arms.

"I didn't know that you could make food that everyone could eat," Tali said.

"Vakarian secret recipe. Very hush-hush," he grinned.

"Best stuff I've had since Earth," Thirteen said.

"Earth?" Jack looked over. "Before or after?"

"I'd never been to Earth before," she said, stirring the soup.

"Right," Miranda said after finishing her mouthful, "Liara said you were a colony recruit."

"Shanxi."

Garrus nearly coughed out his food. "Any…ah…lingering Turian bias? Because I've seen you in action…don't really want to go there."

Thirteen laughed. "That's always the first question I get."

"Is that a no?" Tali smiled.

"Of course not. Never understood the race-hating thing, anyway. Too simple-minded I guess," she tapped at her forehead.

"So why did you join the Alliance?" Garrus asked. "You didn't want to wipe out Turians…was it Batarians?"

"I have a Batarian friend," she grinned. "Hell of a cook."

"Did you just say Batarian and friend consecutively?" Tali's eyes widened. "I didn't know there could be such a thing."

"Shepard thought the same thing. Got over it real fast when he gave us some rations. Saved him on one of the search and rescue missions…" her eyes squinted toward the ceiling. "Eighth S and R I think? One lucky bastard. His restaurant had been set up as a makeshift meal station behind a holding line. Right next to a furniture store that was being used as a hospital. We weren't to the Minneapolis Station zone yet…we were in the Old Chicago National Transport zones, en-route. Anyway, me and a couple other spec ops got called into that area after their line was breached…" she looked down at the table. "They targeted the hospital first…like I said. He's a lucky bastard."

"Keelah," Tali muttered.

Garrus cleared his throat. "Maybe he was lucky or maybe you and your squad were just that damn good."

Thirteen blinked several quick times, clearing the smoky, bloody memory away. "Yeah, maybe. We were under Nova Scotia…he had fourteen recons," she shook her head and looked at Garrus. "Failure wasn't exactly his style."

"What's the highest number of recons reached?" Jack asked. "Fourteen seems like a hell of a lot, even for just getting intel."

"Yeah…loose term. We usually had to clear the zones for the information. Nine people made fifteen out and back. About a dozen of us made thirteen…another dozen twelve…and then there are a bunch in the single-digits. We would get called on search and rescues a lot en-route."

"You remember where you were recruited…" Miranda started cautiously. "Do you remember anything else?"

"Yeah, it…sort of," she looked away briefly. "They took away our names, other names…don't know how. I just know…there was a needle and woosh…away went our names. Everything got fuzzy from before our enlisting, but I remember in pictures better. That's why I was used as a messenger, too."

"What can you remember about before?"

"A little. I didn't do well in school…I had this guy who took me in…his name…I don't remember his name," she rubbed her hand across her eyes. "He was an old guy who'd fought in the First Contact War. Had a nasty limp. He was proud when I enlisted," she turned her gaze to her left hand. "I remember his face when I told him…" her voice dropped as she touched her fingers to her thumb. "I…never got to see him again. I remember stuff like that. But names? Even things people said? No. I get bits and pieces."

Miranda tapped her chin and shot up from the table, starting back to the office. She stopped and grabbed her bowl of soup. "Sorry! I just had a thought. I'll talk to everyone later!"

Jack shook her head. "Back to that stupid room."

"Was it something I said?" Thirteen looked between the faces.

Tali laid a reassuring hand on her arm. "Probably. But not in a bad way."

"About done, cyborg?"

Thirteen looked up to see Ashley standing with her hands on her hips. She stood and gave a salute. "Ready to report, ma'am."

"Good. Let's go upstairs."

/

"Are you sure, Edi?" Liara asked. Her friend had volunteered to do a sort of 'messenger' meld with Thirteen for a conference with Vega.

"It shouldn't be too hard. It would vaguely resemble DNA analysis, acute synapse converting and then combining that with quantum bit projection through the comm link."

The Asari blinked and nodded. "Right. Of course. Just that simple."

"I also plan to give Thirteen the Hahne-Kedar boots I picked up on the Citadel."

She smiled.

The elevator opened and Ashley waved to Edi. "Let's go, Edi. Joker?" she called up.

"Ready, Williams?"

They went through a door that had once been to the armory on Cerberus' version of the Normandy. It was home to their vid communications now. "Patch him through," she said, hitting a button.

"Are you ready, Thirteen?" Edi asked.

"Ready for what?" she raised her eyebrows.

"I'm going to attune certain nervous synapses to yours in present-time through the vid comm link. You will be able to think freely and relay information you would otherwise be blocked from sharing vocally."

"Oh…okay," Thirteen nodded and Edi put one hand on her shoulder and the other on the console.

James' blue image flickered up and he smiled. "Hey, Ash."

_"Damn that's a big dude. Oh fuck,"_ Thirteen's voice, sounding slightly automated, sounded over the speakers.

James laughed.

_"The only drawback is that which is referred to as a 'mental filter', it doesn't work very well in this circumstance,"_ Edi's voice cut in.

_"You don't say. Oh hell. Shape up, soldier. Focus."_

"James Vega," he nodded toward Thirteen.

_"Vanguard, Thirteen_,"she answered, saluting.

"Damn, so formal," he grinned. "At ease, soldier. I'm guessing this isn't just a 'how are you doing' call?" he shifted his weight.

"Not quite," Ashley gave a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, James."

"What's up?"

"We have…a…eh…" Ashley looked over at Thirteen. "Situation."

"Great. That's all we ever seem to have, don't we? That didn't stop, even after Shepard…" he trailed off and looked down.

_"Shepard's alive," _Thirteen said.

"What?" his head shot up. "What are you talking about?"

_"Shepard's alive. Knocked me and my…squad mate on our asses stateside. Seems like she came from the weird green beam."_

"That's…that's…" Vega fought to keep his mouth from flapping open and closed. "Impossible!"

Thirteen shook her head slightly.

"That's not our only problem," Ashley motioned to Thirteen's left side. "See that?"

"Yeah?"

_"I think Liara is wearing Shepard's hoodie…she always goes on about that thing…"_

_ "Thirteen, we can hear you,"_ Edi reminded her.

"Hoodie?" James asked. "What the hell is that?"

_"You know! Sweatshirt with a hood…damn colony slang…always makes people look at me like I'm—"_

"Thirteen!" Ashley looked back to the hologram. "James! Can we please stay on topic?"

_"She said my name…"_

"Don't read too much into it, cyborg," Ashley snapped.

_"And there goes the moment. It was almost as nice as when I called her an ass-hat."_

"Do you see her robot limbs?" The Commander was turning red, waving her arms to Thirteen's side.

"Yeah. We have a couple of guys here with one or two. Got them blown off during The War."

"Well this," Ashley reached down and yanked up the pant leg to show her shin. "Was there before then. She says…" she seemed unable to continue her thought.

_"I was Alliance Spec Ops. They started doing this to us."_

"What?" Vega frowned.

_"Part of some initiative. It started right after Sovereign attacked the Citadel. We were new recruits. They picked one recruit from each class and made us into squads. I know they had over one hundred just from Shanxi. They started…experimenting. Exchanging pieces, seeing what helped who. Internal for some, external…"_ Thirteen patted her leg, _"For others. Our only focus was killing Reapers…even after the green flash, when they were surrendering, our superiors were telling us to kill them. That's when Shepard dropped in. They found out she's still alive. They want her."_

"But why?"

_"They want the Reapers dead. All of them. Once that happens, there's no reason not to turn on other species. Others like me would be leading the attacks. If they were to complete whatever they were trying to accomplish…"_

"Aliens? That was Cerberus' deal. The Alliance is just that. An alliance."

_"The rogue faction partnered with Cerberus after the collector attacks. I wasn't in the first recruits sent to them…but they kept doing their experiments, even after The War."_

"How do you know?"

Thirteen raised her left arm. _"Because they did this."_

Vega's face darkened. "Where are the others like you?"

_"Don't know. Some of us escaped with Shepard. They should still be with her. Six are dead. They don't want this crew alive, though. You know the real Shepard. You know she wouldn't want this and would never campaign for a war against the Reapers…you know, we should give them a less threatening name sometime…sorry! And they know that we were trying to get to Shepard's old crew to tell you guys about her."_

"What do you need me to do?" He straightened and put his hands behind his back.

Ashley frowned. "You're just going to listen to her?"

"You have a better plan?" he raised an eyebrow. "She's talking serious stuff here, Ash. Taking out all our friends, capturing Shepard, starting more wars," he shook his head. "Not on my watch."

_"Rear Admiral Breach. He has contacts with the movement he's reporting to and receiving information from. The information network on board isn't catching anything."_

He nodded. "I'll keep my ear to the ground."

"We're headed to Shepard now," Ashley said, her tone noticeably softer. "Should be there in a few days."

"I'll be damned," he rubbed his hair. "She's alive."

"As far as we know," she looked over to Thirteen.

_"She's alive."_

"Let me know when you find her," he said. "And I'll keep you updated with anything I find out. Deal?"

Ashley nodded. "Deal, Vega."

"Vega out."

"Williams out."

Edi pulled her hand from the console and Thirteen's shoulder.

"That's impressive," Thirteen smiled at her. "Nine would have given her left rib cage to meet you."

Edi blinked and tilted her head for a moment. "I have completed an extranet search and that saying does not register with any colonial slang often used."

"Oh," Thirteen waved off the words. "They took her right one," she slid her own hand down her right side. "She was all metal and nuts and bolts here. Apparently it helped with system something or other connecting to her omni tool. I don't know, she was the smart one."

"Alright," Ashley said, starting out of the room. "Meeting in two hours."

"If you have a moment, I have something for you," Edi said to Thirteen.

Thirteen raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"If you would follow me, please."

The girl followed Edi into the CIC where she bent down to grab a metal case at Samantha's side.

"I have noticed you do not like the sound of your walk. Am I too forward in mentioning this?" Edi looked down at the Hahne-Kedar emblem and back to Thirteen.

Thirteen rubbed the back of her neck. "No…"

"I searched the extranet for something that could help," she held out the case, smiling.

Thirteen opened it and then glanced to Edi again.

"They make special boots for veterans and those with artificial limbs. The inside of the left boot is slightly larger to make room for your foot."

She smiled and took one of the black boots out. Sleek, simple. "These are for me?"

"Yes."

"I don't have any credits," Thirteen put the boot back.

"They are a gift."

Thirteen's eyes widened. "Really?"

Edi smiled. "Yes. I wanted to say thank you for saving my life."

Thirteen took the case and flopped onto the floor, pulling off the lone, size-too-big-boot she had on and starting to clamp on the new ones. "Thank you!" she said. She paused, staring at her left foot. Hardly a foot. A constant boot; eternally clanking, reminding her of what she'd lost. She pulled on the new Hahne-Kedar and stared in awe. It fit. "Thank you," she repeated softer, running her hands over the leather.

"I'm sure Tali or Garrus could help you with modifications so that your weapons have room to function," Edi said.

Thirteen stood and wrung her hands together. "Bronx always said we would get me some boots that fit."

"Was he a friend who…" Edi stopped as Thirteen's head nodded slowly.

"Glad you found some," she smiled sadly. "He never could work the extranet worth a shit."

"You are welcome, Thirteen," Edi reached over and tousled her hair lightly.

/

Miranda had snapped at Ashley when she called to remind her about the meeting. She argued they were going over things she already knew. Her attention was on a shipment of a new, experimental drug she had heard of once, several years before. She was trying to track another large shipment. It was rough going. The records were scattered and disorganized at the very best after The War. Absolute cacophony would be a better term. Her door opened and she didn't look up from the console. "Jack, I'll be to bed soon, I promise."

"Oh…uh…"

She looked up and blushed slightly. "Oh. Hi, Thirteen…" she looked down to the boots peeking out from under her pants. "That's why I didn't hear you. They look nice."

"Sorry, you're busy," she turned to go.

"Wait, actually," Miranda took a data pad and held it out. "Here. Maybe something sounds familiar."

Thirteen took the pad and stared at it for a long moment. "Does this have the voice-reader thing?"

"No," Miranda replied absently, typing at her console. A quiet minute stretched by. "Anything?"

"Uh…" she looked away. "I can't read."

"What?" Miranda frowned.

"Do you have pictures?" she stuck her free hand into a pocket, her cheeks turning bright red. Her other hand offered back the data pad. "I know I'm from Shanxi because I looked at a lot of human colony pictures before…" she turned so her half-head of hair blocked her face. "Voice activated search."

"Don't be embarrassed," Miranda said, taking it back. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize."

"I remember better in pictures," she said quietly, staring at the floor. "Used me as messenger, remember? Pictures and sounds. So I don't know why I can't remember what things people said before I enlisted…"

"Right brain…" Miranda whispered. "That makes sense," she scrolled through the information on the data pad, highlighting several words; drug names. She put it aside and laced her fingers together, elbows on the table. "Would you like to learn?"

Thirteen glanced up. "Learn what?"

"To read and write."

"I uh…" she looked away again. "I don't know."

"Come on…" Miranda stood and walked around the desk. "Letters can't be all that intimidating. I watched you fire a rocket…no, two, right back at the ones who had fired them. I'd never seen that before."

"Neither had I. It was a guess," she grinned slightly.

"See? You can do it. Here," Miranda looked around for a pen and paper. There was none. "Shit. Okay, I'll make you a deal. We'll have to refuel before Terra Nova. Probably sometime tomorrow. I'll find some writing supplies and teach you to read and write…and you give me hand-to-hand combat tips."

"I uh…" Thirteen shrugged. "Okay."

"Good," Miranda touched her left shoulder briefly and smiled. "You should get some rest."

"You should too, soldier. Oh," she winced. "Sorry. Old habits…"

"I'm still looking for some clue on how this even came to be," she said, leaning against the desk. "I'm not letting people get away for this. Not like they did with Jack."

Thirteen tilted her head. "Teltin."

"Yes," Miranda looked away and her fingers flexed around the sleek metal of the desk. "I couldn't…after the Illusive Man destroyed everything, I…" she took a deep breath and looked back to Thirteen. "Everything isn't gone for you yet. I could still find something. I could make up for…I could…" she stopped and turned away. "They used my research from the Lazarus Project. They…it's my fault what they did to you, Thirteen."

There was a long pause. "No it's not."

"How can you even say that?" Miranda looked to her again. She could see the tired woman in Thirteen's face. She wasn't past twenty-two or twenty-three, she had figured that with some easy addition about her enlistment and the start of the project. She forgot so easily how much the brown eyes had seen. Done.

"It's the truth."

"They used my research—my reports, my findings—to do that to you," she motioned to Thirteen's left side. "To do whatever they did to your friends."

"I know."

"Then why?" Miranda felt her tiredness and frustration beginning to turn to tears. She felt a lump in her throat.

"They would have done whatever they felt like regardless," Thirteen said. "Your research is probably the only reason I'm alive."

"We should have investigated sooner," Miranda shook her head. "If we had, maybe…"

"I don't blame you," Thirteen said.

"What?"

"I don't blame you for this," she took a step forward. "You don't have to make anything up to me."

A stray, unwelcome tear slid down Miranda's face.

Thirteen took another step forward and hugged her.

The ex-Cerberus woman looked down awkwardly for a moment before hugging her back. "You're a hell of a kid, you know that?"

"So I've been told," she said as she pulled away. "You should get some sleep. It can wait until morning. Or afternoon," she added, walking to the door.

"Thirteen?" she called before she made it to the corner by the elevator. She turned. "Thank you."

Thirteen touched her forehead with two fingers and nodded before continuing around the corner.

/

Jack shifted as she felt someone slide into bed next to her. A familiar hand ran under her shirt and over a long, thick scar on her torso. "Hey," she mumbled, eyes cracking open to the soft light from the bed side lamp she had left on.

"Hey," Miranda whispered, pressing her lips against her neck. "I love you."

"I was…" Jack opened her eyes and turned. "Waiting up for you," she blinked sleepily. "Still awake," she yawned.

"Mmhm," Miranda raised an eyebrow. "Of course you are."

"Completely," she blinked again and grinned lopsidedly.

Miranda's finger traced the scar on Jack's chest, trailing out from the scooped neck of her pajama t-shirt.

"Don't," Jack said, catching her hand. "Don't do that. I can see it in your face."

"See what?" Miranda looked away.

Jack raised an eyebrow and Miranda sighed. "Yeah. That's what I thought. Teltin was before you even ran away from your dad, Miri."

"I can't believe I was so blind…all they did was…they just used me and…"

Jack kissed her knuckles lightly, stopping her words. "Manipulated. I know...hey, _you _want to know something?"

Miranda blinked down the tears that had built in her eyes. "What?"

"I fell for you the second you basically told the Illusive Man to go fuck himself."

"Really?" she grinned slightly, running her hand through Jack's hair.

"I forgave you," she murmured. "Not for Teltin, because it wasn't your fault. For everything else. I saw it. I saw how they just wanted you for what you could do," she looked down at her tattoos, her scars. "Knew it couldn't feel like fuzzy fucking bunnies and rainbows to find that out."

"Thank you," Miranda whispered.

"Now I just want you for _other_ things you can do," Jack grinned.

"We had the nicest moment there."

"Yeah, well, you said yes to me," she raised an eyebrow. "You get the whole package."

Miranda grinned and kissed her, exhaustion sweeping over her. She snuggled her head onto Jack's chest. "I love the whole package, Jennifer."

Jack yawned again and reached over to click off the light. "I love you too."


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: I went back to do some continuity checking with my timeline, so if you read chapter 4 before 1/15/14, when Shepard asks if the 'spec ops' are colony recruits, Nine now replies "Long 3 years since we signed up" instead of 5. And fixing that, it also changed something in Chapter 7 when Miranda figured Thirteen's age-it's now "She couldn't be more than twenty-two or twenty-three". Those were the only plot changes though! Thanks for sticking with me! :)_

* * *

Thirteen, Grunt, Garrus, and Miranda were in the Kodiak headed to the refueling station. The Normandy was in stealth mode a several-minute shuttle ride away, in case any retrieval orders had been sent out. A 'friend' Miranda and Liara knew through the network had sent out a refueling ship to the Normandy so they didn't have to dock. Jack, Liara, and Tali had taken a ride in earlier.

"Don't stare at them, you'll go blind," Thirteen grinned and pulled up her hood.

Grunt huffily turned away. "They're so…they're…so…line-y and circle-y."

"Aw, you're making me blush," she pushed his arm and he giggled.

"Do they itch?" Garrus asked.

"Really?" Miranda turned and raised an eyebrow. "Itch?"

Thirteen absently touched the cybernetic lines crawling up her neck. "Um…no more than normal? I guess?"

"Can I poke them?" Grunt turned again.

"Grunt!" Miranda sighed.

Thirteen laughed and tugged the hood down. "Knock yourself out."

He extended a single gloved 'finger' and jabbed her neck. "Hm. Can't feel it."

"Probably something to do with the gloves," Garrus rolled his head as the bump signaling they had landed jolted the floor. Cortez swung out from the pilot compartment.

Thirteen again shielded her face and hand as they stepped out.

"Alright," Miranda handed Grunt a chit. "Snacks," she pointed to his nose. "Right?"

He blinked.

"Grunt?"

"Agh. Fine. Snacks."

"Good," she started away.

He elbowed Garrus. "And explosives."

"I heard that!" she called over her shoulder.

"Damn that woman," Garrus crossed his arms, looking at Thirteen. "She can hear a surprising amount from behind for the way human ears are turned."

"I heard that too!"

"Do you think she can actually hear me or is she just saying that?"

"Garrus!" she whirled and put her hands on her hips.

Thirteen leaned toward him, still looking forward. "I don't think she's bluffing."

"It would be a good poker face, I admit."

"You're all incorrigible!" she threw her hands up and continued into the station.

"She always says the nicest things," Garrus extended his long arms and gave both Thirteen and Grunt a cheerful slap on the back. "Let's go."

The main station interior was a huge vault of space with cool, clean air. Shelves and random trading stands and huts were crammed together, lining small walkways. Turians tripped over volus and asari squeezed past elcor. Salarians chattered at vendors, quarians argued over gas prices, and even a krogan stomped past, saying something to his geth friend about not trusting others on Omega once they got there.

"Never did like these places," Garrus muttered. "Too many people in one place."

Grunt forged ahead, bumping through the crowd. "'Scuse me," he mumbled. "'Scuse me…'scuse me…'scuse…hey! Move it!" he finally shoved his giant paws into the back of a particularly large, jiggly human man.

"He's handy," Cortez grinned.

"I'm sorry," Garrus said as they went by.

Thirteen shrugged as he looked at her for an apology. "I'm sure there's a saying somewhere about being in a krogan's way," she offered the man. They continued into the flurry of shops and bodies for a minute.

"So what was on your shopping list?" Garrus nudged Thirteen.

"Clothes."

"Right," he nodded. "Like what?"

She shrugged again. "Ones that keep me from being naked are a good start."

Garrus put his hand to his chin. "I don't think I'm qualified to do _that_ shopping."

Thirteen slapped her palm to her forehead. "I didn't…well I mean yes, I guess I do, but no! No, I don't want you to…" she shook her head. "No, I don't want you to help me look for my bra and shit."

"Whew!" he watched Grunt stalking past more people who were seeming to get the hint and move for his heavy footsteps. "Because I don't think I could."

"I've got that. Maybe just find me some more pants and shirts? Another hoodie so I can stop stealing Cortez's?"

"See, now I don't think it looks half bad," Cortez threw an arm around Thirteen's shoulder. "Comfiest thing you'll be able to find."

"It _is_ really soft and fuzzy," she admitted.

"Yeah, I dare you to try and find something more comfortable than this," Cortez tapped Thirteen's head, "that's still functional."

"Yeah," she tugged at the hood seam. "Make sure it'll cover my big melon."

"Why in all Palaven would you put your sweatshirt on a melon?" Garrus' head twitched to the side.

"It's some colony slang for head, bosh'tet," Tali's laugh emerged before she did from the crowd, carrying over a box that read Dextro-Friendly Cheez-Nips in lettering a little too bright. "Look what I found! One of the dextro vendors had them in stock!" she waved the box triumphantly.

"I can hold those," Garrus reached over and snatched them deftly from her grip.

"Hey!" she jumped a little as he held it just out of her reach.

"Thirteen needs help shopping for…girly clothes things."

Thirteen whacked her forehead again and Cortez laughed, arm still around her shoulders.

"What the hell am I supposed to do about it?" she countered. "I wear a _suit_!"

"You don't need to!"

"I do too! Well, I mean I don't _have _to…" she gave a jump to try and reach her Cheez-Nips. "But if you would rather me not get serious infections…" another jump, "every other day, then yes, I do…" another jump, "when we're out in public…_give me that_!" she finally gave up and kicked his equivalent of a shin.

"Well," he said, rubbing his leg and looking ruefully at the reclaimed box of Cheez-Nips, "serious infection is a step up from fatal. So are you going to take her or what?"

"Okay," Thirteen held up her right hand and left Cortez's side. "Instead of arguing about my fucking undergarments in the middle of the gas station, just give me the chit and I'll go find something. You can continue fighting over your Dextro-Nips."

"Dextro-Friendly Cheez-Nips," Tali corrected, putting a hand on her hip. "You should really find some non-dextro ones. Not like they're military issue, I doubt you've had them. At least not recently."

"Non-Dextro Friendly Cheez-Nips. Got it."

"No, they're just called Cheez-Nips, if you don't need dextro ."

Thirteen sighed. "Can I go get some underwear now?" she raised an eyebrow and held out her hand.

Tali grinned and adjusted Thirteen's hood slightly, resembling something like a fussy quarian mother. "Be careful. I didn't help save you just so some pirate could come along and kidnap you because he saw something shiny," she handed her a chit. "Of course I would feel sorry for that pirate…"

Thirteen rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah," she mumbled. "I would too."

"Back at the shuttle in half an hour," Garrus said. "Everyone copy?"

"Got it," Cortez nodded.

"I'll ask around for the time," Thirteen gave a thumbs up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find myself some Dextro-Nips and underwear."

"They're not Dextro-Nips," Garrus and Tali chorused.

"I think she knows," Cortez grinned. "But I'm off to do the grocery shopping," he started through the crowd after Thirteen.

"Can I at least have one?" Garrus turned to Tali.

"Get your own," she pushed against his chest teasingly.

He took a step closer. "Might need some help finding the vendor. Never was much good at navigating through these messes."

Tali took his hand. "Oh, I know. Remember when you got me and Shepard lost trying to help that quarian when the volus accused her of stealing his credit chit?"

"I don't recall."

"Mmhm. Of course you don't."

/

Liara scratched absently at one of her head crests, trying to block out the jumbled, vocal melting pot that swirled in the air. She ran her fingers lightly over a model Mako and turned to the woman, bent with age, sitting in the corner. "I didn't know they made these," she said.

The woman squinted. "You throw goat cheese?" she asked loudly. "That's nice, dear."

"No," Liara grinned and raised her voice slightly. "I didn't know they made these," she pointed.

"Oh! Yes, yes, some colony," she waved a hand outward. "Ah…had a Thresher Maw attack years ago. Rebuilt and now there's a shop down there. Owner sends those to me."

Liara stepped toward the woman. "Akuze?"

"Yep!" she leaned back in her chair and snapped her fingers. "Asnooze. Sounds right. I guess it's a nice little place. Wasn't too hard hit during The War. Heard that even some asari and turians settled down there."

"Akuze," Liara whispered, taking the Mako in her hands. Shepard knew the name well. She had woken up screaming, once. Cold sweat had soaked her tank top and the band of her shorts as Liara startled awake.

_"Shepard?" Liara jumped up and laid her hand lightly on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"_

_ "Cover!" she shouted, diving herself and Liara off the bed. She crouched, eyes not completely focused._

_ "Shepard!" Liara took her face in her hands, elbow throbbing from the impact of the hardwood floor. "Shepard, it's me! We're safe! We're on the Citadel in Anderson's apartment!"_

_ The woman's eyes darted around. "Stay down. Don't move, they'll feel you," she breathed, her hands gripping Liara's arms._

_ "No," she put their foreheads together. "Shepard, we aren't on Akuze."_

_ Her eyes calmed and suddenly filled with tears, realization dawning on her features. Her hands slipped from Liara's arms._

_ "There," she whispered as Shepard's head sank to her shoulder. "We aren't on Akuze," she ran her hand up and down her back slowly. She ignored the chilled sweat. "We're okay, Shepard. It's alright."_

"I'll take this model," she held up the Mako.

"You fake a bondel? What's that?"

"Take this model," she repeated.

"Oh!" she nodded and grabbed a nearby cane, struggled off the chair. "I'll be right back," she disappeared behind a door and emerged a second later with a box in her hands. "You build these things?"

"No," she said, handing her a credit chit. "My bondmate did…" she felt a smile tugging at her mouth. "Does."

"You found a date? Well that's good," the woman nodded.

"Bondmate, my _bondmate_ does," she leaned closer.

"You let your bondmates date others? My," she shook her head. "Strange bunch, asari."

Liara gave up trying to correct her and smiled as she took the box. "Thank you."

/

"This is robbery!" Garrus threw his hands up. "You paid that much?" he looked over to Tali, who shrugged. "Ninety and not one cred more!" he crossed his arms.

"Then no deal," the turian vendor shook his head.

"I'll have you know I've—"

"Garrus," Tali put her hand on his arm and handed her chit to the Turian who gladly handed her another box. "Really."

"I can't believe you just paid two hundred creds for Cheez-Nips."

"How long since you've even seen them?" she handed him his own box. "Come on. Stop trying to pick fights. It's not as if we don't have plenty of credits to go around three times over."

"I find plenty of fights without having to…" he paused as he wrestled with the cardboard.

"Yes, I know," she started away, him trailing behind a few paces. "Now we have to find Thirteen some of her own pants and shirts. She looks ridiculous in the oversized ones she's been wearing."

"How about those?" he pointed to a nearby stand where an elcor stood, his small eyes watching the passersby.

"It's good I came with you," she sighed. "Do you really think she would wear something like that?"

Garrus eyed the pants he had motioned to. "Pink is a girl color."

"Keep moving," she took his elbow and they continued on. He tossed a Cheez-Nip in his mouth.

"I take it back. I should have paid that guy two hundred for these," he shook the box.

"Don't rub it in," she warned. "I can't have any until we're back on the ship…there. That's what we're looking for."

"How boring," Garrus said, tucking his snack away in the bag Tali had thrown over her shoulder. It was a tiny shop, elbowing for room between a large, open plot boasting War memorabilia from Tuntau and Sylsalto and another plot with a volus shouting at anyone who passed that they dare not attempt his biotic amps.

The human behind the counter was a thin, unassuming man, a haggard beard stretching across his face and a thick, unkempt mop of dark hair. He smiled. "Hello," he offered his hand and the two shook it. "Human friend?"

"Yes," Tali said. "She needs some practical outfits."

"You came to the right dude," he waved them in and they ducked under the awning. "Particular climate needs?" he raised thick eyebrows. He had a familiar, nearly imperceptible limp.

"No, just doing some light damage control out here," Garrus said as the man stopped at a wall of jeans. He was trying to place why he knew the man's gait.

"I guess three of these," Tali looked at a tag on a pair of jeans and turned to another wall of t-shirts. "And three plain ones. Medium, I'm thinking."

"Do you have any…" Garrus searched the air for the term Thirteen had used. "Hoodies?"

The man laughed. "You know that word? Damn! Thought only human colony rats like me said that," he shook his head as he piled the pairs of jeans onto his arm. "Sad to say I don't. My supplier of those was taken out during The War…imported from Thessia," he took three shirts from the wall, his face falling slightly. "I'll tell you what, though. I'll give you a discount, since you reminded me of home."

"What colony are you from?" Tali asked as Garrus handed him his chit.

"Ah…" he completed the transaction and stuffed the clothes in a bag. "Shanxi."

"Really?" Garrus looked over to Tali. "Our friend is from there."

"You don't say? What's her name? Long shot I'll know her but it's always nice to know someone from home is out there…that Commander Shepard really gave us colonists a good name. Used to think I was the only colonist who didn't hate aliens."

"Hmph," Garrus kicked at the floor. "Ah…see, it's the damndest thing…because of The War, um…" his mind raced trying to come up with excuses.

He held up his hand briefly. "No need, sir. The War did some funny things to people."

"Thank you, very much," Tali nodded to him.

"Hey," he reached under his desk and pulled out a thin, braided leather bracelet. "It isn't much, but it's from home. I have a few left. Give it to your friend for me."

Tali accepted his gift. "I'm sure she'll like it."

"Be safe out there," he touched his forehead with two fingers as they turned to go.

"Wait," Garrus turned briefly at the entrance and exit to the shop. "What does that mean? The touching your forehead thing?"

"It means 'I see you'," he smiled. "It's a sign of understanding and respect from colonists. At least where I'm from."

Garrus nodded. "We'll kick some ass for you, Shanxi."

"Hmm…Shanxi. I like that."

/

"It's really from the pre-war Rio de Janeiro port?"

"Only deal with the best," the Salarian put his hand on the counter. "Earth cultures are my specialty."

Thirteen tugged at her hood and stared at the simple but elegant dress hanging behind him. "Your specialty?"

"Yes. I can see you spent several months in what is referred to as 'The States'. Your lack of accent suggests middle of the country. Not born there, picked up colonial slang earlier."

"Piss on my head and call it rain," Thirteen muttered. "You're pretty damn good."

"The best," he sniffed and smiled.

"I'll take it," she looked over her shoulder briefly as he scanned the chit and returned it to her.

He pulled the dress into a long, plastic cover and handed it gently over the counter. "Interest in Earth cultures?"

"Not especially," she murmured. "It's for a friend."

"Aaah. Friend born there?"

"Yeah."

"Bound to like it. Influence in design from pre-space flight culture."

"Thanks."

"Interest you in anything else?"

"No," she grinned, "I'm pretty sure they'll about take my head off for blowing their creds on this."

He raised his hand as she turned to go. "Go well, soldier."

She turned.

"Hope it is not offensive I said that. Noticed slight limp, possible old wound…some would say can also see it in your eyes. Know term of reverence from other colonist encounters."

She nodded and touched her forehead. "Be well, sir."

"Should study colonial sayings sometime," he chattered to himself as she left. "Fascinating. Some very timeless. Piss on my head. Like it!"

/

"I want a big one!" Grunt spread his arms.

"Two thousand credits please," the geth held out his hand.

"Is it the biggest one?" Grunt asked, handing him the chit.

"The show will last approximately five minutes. Is this acceptable?"

Grunt clapped his hands. "Give me two!"

"Acknowledged," the Geth nodded. "The show will commence as soon as I have loaded the explosives into the firing tanks."

Grunt pressed his face against a large pane of glass, looking into the black sky. The Geth's voice came over a loudspeaker.

"Firework show commencing in T-minus one minute. Duration approximately ten minutes."

"Explosives!" Grunt cheered.

/

"Firework show commencing in T-minus one minute. Duration approximately ten minutes."

Miranda sighed heavily and shifted the stack of paper in her hands. "For the love of all that is decent, Grunt!"

"Hey!" Jack grabbed her elbow. "Let's go!" She laughed. "I love Grunt!"

Miranda let Jack pull her along to the outer edge of the station to the football-field sized window and large, clear space where people could gather to watch a show. "You know, encouraging this whole sneaking off and buying firework shows isn't exactly—"

Jack yanked her close and kissed her as the first, brilliant red explosion went off in space, followed by two blue ones. With complete disregard for a few stray glances she was soliciting, Jack broke off and ran her mouth along Miranda's jaw line.

"I suppose…I could let it slide," she muttered breathlessly.

Jack frowned and kissed her neck lightly. "Some guy is eyeballing us."

"Tell him hands off," she grinned. "This one is mine."

"No…not that kind," she offered him a tattooed middle finger. He didn't stop staring. "Something's off," she murmured, bringing their faces close again.

Miranda brought her hand up to Jack's cheek. "Uniform?"

"No, he looks like a regular piece of human space shit. Dark hair, nasty ass beard."

"We don't have time for this," Miranda frowned and turned, striding over. Jack tried to grab her hand unsuccessfully. "Do we have a problem?" she stopped in front of the man.

"Run," he whispered before planting his hands on her shoulders and shoving. "What's your issue?" he shouted.

"Hey!" Jack leapt forward and brought her hand around. Her fist connected with his nose and bright red spurted out as he fell backwards onto the floor.

Miranda felt at her shirt's collar. Something was there. A scrap of paper. She grabbed it and stuffed it in her pocket. "Jack, it's time to go," she reached down and pulled at her leather jacket.

"She just saved your ass," Jack hissed to the man cowering on the floor, his face illuminated in a flash of green.

"Hey!" Garrus came running up, followed by Tali. "What's going on?" he looked down at the man. "Shanxi?"

The man's eyebrows knitted together as Garrus looked down his leg. Something familiar about the way his left knee jutted out so acutely; how straight his shin appeared. Bolts. Rods. Plates. "Run," he hissed, glancing at Miranda. "Get the hell out of Dodge."

Garrus nodded and started toward Grunt, waving to the women. "I'll take care of him."

Miranda pulled up her omni tool as they started away from the window. "Tali, contact Cortez." The call picked up. "Liara?" she asked the glowing orange.

"Yes? I see Grunt ordered another fireworks show. I think we should see about getting him some of the very small ones that can go off in the shuttle bay, he would—"

"It's time to go," she said. "Change of plans."

"Oh…_oh_. Where is Thirteen?"

"Shit," Jack muttered. "Shit!"

"I'll sweep this area. I'm by bays six to twelve."

Tali looked to the ceiling where directions were painted in huge block letters and numbers. "I can take one to six."

"Dammit," Miranda shook her head. "There's no way we can cover the station. We have to head back to the shuttle."

"And leave her here?" Jack swept out an arm. "No fucking thank you."

"I'll look on my way. T'Soni out."

"Copy that. Lawson out," Miranda whirled and took Jack's shoulders. "Jack, we're talking about a special operative. I don't know and I don't want to guess as to how many things she's killed, or the different places she's had to hide. She'll get back to the shuttle. It's not like anyone would start a firefight in here. Too many pirates and former military everywhere. It will be alright."

"I don't leave my kids behind," she yanked away from Miranda.

"Jack," she reached and grabbed her arm again. "It's not The War. It's alright."

Jack gave her an icy glare. "I didn't leave them then and I'm not going to now."

"We aren't leaving her. We'll be waiting."

She relented to the logic and pushed past her, muttering a string of profanities.

/

Thirteen tripped and fell heavily next to an irate volus.

"Watch…your step…Earth clan!" he took a step away when her hood fell backward. "What…"

She scrambled up and continued sprinting, the bag of clothes she'd bought clutched tightly to her chest. A yellow burst made her cringe and her steps stuttered. She circled to the edge of the station, a back alley of sorts; continued along the wall.

Another flash.

She dove to the floor and spotted an air shaft. Her left leg kicked out and the grate went spinning in, clanking and sparking down the square tunnel. She crawled inside, panting. "No," she gritted out once she was several feet from the mouth of the shaft. "This isn't Earth…not Earth…" She wiped at her face, sweat beginning to bead at her temples. "Get a grip," she spat, her ribs beginning their slow protest at her quick, rough movement. She must have hit them when she fell. They'd been bothering her, but Chakwas said it would get better if she rested. The ambush on the ship had prevented that. She automatically went to pull up her omni and stared blankly at her hand when it didn't light up. "Oh fuck me," she muttered, resting her head against the metal behind her. Her breathing slowed and she sighed, started crawling back to the vent opening as feet started shuffling by.

"You _will_ tell us," someone growled.

She stopped and watched the shoes carefully. Three people.

"I don't know. I was just watching the action and they got huffy with me. I swear I didn't recognize them."

Thirteen's breath caught in her throat. "Skipper?" she whispered. The feet stopped at the vent entrance. She squinted, scrutinizing the pant legs. There. The fabric of his pants hitched slightly at his shin plate.

"We've had this problem with a few others. Argos Rho, Crescent Nebula, Apien Crest. Caught the soldier from Romeo-Two trying to send encrypted messages to the Council in the Nimbus Cluster," another voice cut in. "Good thing he's dumb as a space rock."

"I thought they're supposed to be glitch-free after Noveria?"

"Obviously something's wrong out there. No updates for a week…I heard someone say a vanguard busted out or something."

"That's what they get for trying to make fighting machines. Should have stuck with this sort of model."

A thump and Skipper stumbled forward.

"How the hell are we supposed to fight with shit like that? They cranked out some good hardware right after The War. Why change what they're doing now? Dumb fucks for being such genius science guys if you ask me."

"Whatever. Zap him and let's go say there's a security breach. Lock down access to the docking bays and shuttle bays. No way they can regroup by then."

"Go well," Skipper said.

"What's he babbling about?"

"Zap him, dipshit."

There were two sharp, crackling snaps and Skipper collapsed on the floor. His eyes locked with Thirteen's.

/

"Grunt?" Garrus turned to watch the three women disappear into the jumble of shops. "Time to go."

"My explosives aren't done yet!" he shrugged off Garrus' hand. Another flash and he sighed wistfully. "Too bad there's no sound."

"Grunt," he said again.

The krogan finally turned. "My explosives…" he frowned. "What's going on?"

"It's time…to _go_," he said, nodding toward the shuttle bay area. "We can watch from the shuttle."

"Is Lawson upset I got the explosives?" he asked as they started away.

"No."

"I didn't get my snacks."

"Cortez went grocery shopping."

"He never gets the good snacks."

"Maybe this time he'll get them to shut up your singing."

"Heh heh heh."

Garrus glanced to their left and stopped. Between a pair of shops was a slim opening, showing the side wall of the station. The Shanxi shop owner was being jostled between two other men and they stopped.

The shop owner caught sight of Garrus and shook his head.

The turian frowned, started reaching for his concealed pistol.

The look on the shop owner's face was steel. He shook his head again, slowly. _Run_, he mouthed.

"Vakarian? We going?" Grunt's voice wandered back to him from several feet ahead.

_Go_.

Garrus was torn. He looked away briefly then turned back. He slowly reached up and touched his fingers to his forehead.

"Go well," the shop owner said. His words barely reached him.

One of the other men jabbed something to his neck and the men started away as the Shanxi man crumpled to the ground.

"I thought we were done seeing this," Garrus muttered as they continued on. "Double time it, Grunt."

"Heh heh…MOVE!" he roared. A path opened for them and he looked back at Garrus as they started again. "That's why I'm one of Jack's pretty people."

/

"Skipper," Thirteen crawled forward.

Skipper smiled. "Thought it might have been one of you. Heard all of Delta One went rogue. No other squad left all together like that."

She folded her legs and cradled his head in her lap. She knew he didn't have long. A minute at the longest. His heart was frying as they spoke. "Yeah…guess we all liked each other or something. How weird…" she touched the bridge of his nose lightly. "Should I see the other guy?"

"Girl. Lots of tattoos. I'm guessing Jack, Subject Zero from our last network BOLO report."

Thirteen shook her head. "Of course."

"Still protecting the Commander?"

"You know it."

"Damn…" his breath hitched. "You guys always knew…the good fight. How…is Delta?"

Thirteen patted his cheek. "You'll get to see them real soon, Skip. I'm sure Nine will swear you up and down."

"I deserve…" another hitch. "That…" his limbs started shaking. "You forgive me?" his fists clenched involuntarily.

"Nothing to forgive, Skipper…except that maybe you'll be seeing Nine before I do. I guess I can let it go," Thirteen smiled.

"Want me…to give her a…big sloppy kiss…for you?"

"Don't you fucking dare."

Skipper nodded, smiling despite the fact that his insides were veritably cooking. "You two…were never…any fun…" his eyelids fluttered briefly. "Go…well…Thirteen."

"Go well, Skip," she whispered. His body jolted several violent times and was still.

"Attention patrons, there has been a possible security breach. Access to shuttle bays and docking bays is temporarily suspended."

Thirteen's head jerked upward at the automated voice. She yanked the chain around Skipper's neck and stuffed the lone dog tag in her pocket, then started back for the air shaft.

/

"Are you alright?" Miranda gently ran her hand over Jack's back. They sat on the shuttle step.

"I'm fine," she crossed her arms. "Where the fuck is Thirteen?"

"I've started a scan," Liara said, pulling up her omni tool.

"Attention patrons, there has been a possible security breach. Access to shuttle bays and docking bays is temporarily suspended."

Cortez leaned out from the shuttle door. "That can't be good."

Grunt and Garrus nearly exploded through the door into the bay area.

"That was close," Garrus sighed. "We didn't miss any action did we?"

"Unless sharing a location program with Liara so she could cross-reference with Thirteen's approximate density scans she got from Chakwas is action, then no," Tali answered.

"Sounds dirty," he winked.

"Garrus…" she shook her head. "I don't know what to do with you some days."

"There!" Liara pointed to the 3D layout from her omni tool. "She's in…the ventilation system."

Garrus nodded. "Smart girl."

"There are over six miles of tunnel in this station…" Liara looked over at Garrus. "Let's hope so."

"Blue, she didn't get this far just by looking like a bad ass," Jack said.

"There's only one problem," Miranda laced her fingers together. "The heating and cooling fluctuations."

"Fuck," Jack muttered.

/

"Yeah, the air duct, the fucking air duct, Thirteen. Why the hell not?" Thirteen grumbled, continuing her crouched run. She stopped at an intersection. There was a drop off ahead of her. She leaned over and peered down. "Six feet? Ish? Well…I'm five four…that looks like…yeah, six. Six is good."

There was a shuddering roar.

"Oh for shit's sake!" Thirteen shouted as the freezing air blasted her.

/

"I say we go in after her," Jack finally leapt up from her seat. "She doesn't have a way to communicate with us. If someone leaves now, you could grab her before she gets too far away," she looked at Liara. "You said it's only like six minutes, right? We've wasted ten."

"Not true," Garrus frowned. "I've successfully eaten half my box of Cheez-Nips."

"Shut up!"

"See, this is why you're picking daisies in my history book," Garrus turned away and flicked another into his mouth. "You don't enjoy my little conquests, how could you appreciate taking down the Reapers?"

Their heads turned at the sound of a metal clang. Someone shot up from a floor vent several shuttle slots away.

The quarians standing by their shuttle jumped.

"M-m-mother fucking c-cold, shitty ass v-v-vent in the c-cr-rotch of nowhere fucking sp-p-space!" Thirteen directed her verbal abuse at the vent opening. She looked to the Quarians. "Oh," she bowed slightly. "Exc-c-cuse m-my language. H-ha-ave you seen—"

"Thirteen!" Jack shouted. "Get your ass over here before we miss the flight window for the next batch heading out!"

"Thanks," she said to the group before running over. The bag dangled from her right hand as her feet slapped to a halt and she climbed in the shuttle, already powering up. The door shut.

"We didn't think you were going to find us," Liara said, swiping over her torso with her omni tool. She was freezing, but she would be fine.

"I j-j-just w-went away from the c…cold air," Thirteen crossed her arms close to her middle. "I…h-hate the cold."

Garrus nodded. "I sympathize."

Jack gripped her left shoulder. "You're done with trips to the gas station."

"G-good. Stupid p-p-place anyway," she muttered, looking at her boots and doubling over to attempt to ease the pain in her ribs. The squeezing feeling in her chest. Skipper.


	9. Chapter 9

"Why did they know we would be there?" Ashley stormed into the room that housed the vid comm and a small table. She glanced backward at Miranda and Liara. "Now they know we're in this system. Hell, they may have even narrowed it down that Shepard is in this system!"

"They didn't know we would be there," Liara said calmly. "From what Thirteen heard, they have agents stationed across the galaxy in ports like that."

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe she's helping them?"

"No," Miranda answered coldly. "Because it's irrational."

"Nothing's rational anymore!" Ashley kicked at a chair, toppling it onto its side. "Reapers are friendly, part of the Alliance paired with Cerberus, there's a kid on our ship who's half scrap metal and we call her by a number, who's supposedly leading us to Shepard, who we thought was dead. What is rational here?"

"If you think about it, all of that together makes sense," Miranda said, not able to help the small quirk of her mouth turning it into a smile.

"Don't mess with me, Lawson!"

"You're being completely impossible," Miranda shot back. "What is wrong with you? Before Noveria, I thought we at least had an understanding of each other."

"What about down there? Those tests they were running?" Ashley's voice seethed. "I don't have an understanding of that. Though I'm sure you do, with Jack and everything."

"Don't bring her into this."

"Williams!" Liara raised her voice. Ashley looked over, startled. "You're done. We're finding Shepard tomorrow, and then we will figure out how to go about dealing with the name the man gave us at the port."

"Oh, you mean the guy Nineteen said informed on them when they were first running with Shepard? That guy? I'm sure he can really be trusted."

"He gave his life for us to have this information," Miranda held up the scrap of paper. "He did something right. We aren't going to let that go to waste."

"Ashley," Liara's voice was calm again, soothing. "We know you're just trying to keep us safe…but we are Normandy," she grinned slightly. "It's not exactly our style."

Ashley, deflated, flopped into one of the chairs still standing. "Knowing Shepard," she stared at the paper in Miranda's hand, "she'll want to go in guns blazing."

"Kooris Dolman," Miranda looked down to the name. "He killed six people Shepard came to love and care about. He killed six people who saved her life."

"Ah," Ashley tapped the table. "Your new best friend did that. Nineteen."

Miranda flung the paper, for lack of anything better to throw, at the commander. "His entire purpose was to destroy her! Make her empty and then make her believe she was useless except to his cause! Do you honestly think he would treat us any differently? We would be nothing more than tools to him. Highly efficient tools."

"You call her Nineteen," Liara murmured, eyes boring into Ashley's. "What will your number be if we don't stop him?" She turned and her words were ice as she started out the door. "He is a dead man."

/

"I'm still not sure if I'm alright with you heading out without any proper desert gear," Cortez crossed his arms, watching Thirteen line up another day pack in the shuttle bay. Seven heavy packs lined one wall and six suits of desert armor were ready to the side. Ashley, Kasumi, Garrus, Liara, Tali, and Grunt were all going with Thirteen onto Terra Nova. They had to land a day's hike out from the base so they could tell Shepard a shuttle would be coming in with the rest of the crew.

"I just have to make it there," she said, heading to the lockers to ready extra canteens. "Or most of the way there."

"Don't talk like that," Cortez sat on a crate, watching her trained movements.

"My job is to get you guys to Shepard. That's what I need to do."

"I'm sorry about your friend," he offered. "I heard you talking to Miranda earlier. I know…" he shook his head. "I know what it's like. I know it's tough."

Thirteen turned. "Skipper," she murmured. "That ass hat. Of course he had to go completely noble when it would kill him."

"And disregard the people he was leaving behind?"

"Yeah…you know I could have killed him the day he told us what they did to us was right. When he called the captains and officers of our program to our location." she stared down at the canteen in her hands. "I forgave him, though. He was an asshole, but he was a funny asshole. Can't hold a grudge against someone you came to appreciate and call friend. Not when you were…" she tapped her left leg. "In that program. He could have figured out a way. He didn't have to…" she blinked and tossed the canteen onto the 'extras' pile she had. "Brothers in arms," she muttered. "Brothers can be a fucking pain sometimes, but you still love them."

Cortez hopped off the crate and walked over, put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to forget."

"Never could," she smiled weakly, reaching into her pocket and pulling the lone dog tag out. "ABO Pilot," she read. "That's all he got," she held up the small metal piece. "ABO Pilot."

"ABO?"

"Alliance Black Ops. Obscure enough for nobody else to guess, plain enough for them to throw it away if they found it," Thirteen grinned. "Skip was always coming up with names. Ass Bitch Officer. Awesome Balls Operatives…that was his favorite," she laughed. "Awesome Balls Ops, get your asses to my shuttle before you're castrated…" she shook her head. "Dirty bastard. Couldn't help but like him."

"You going to be alright?"

Thirteen stared at the tag for a long moment. "You know, we heard of some of the crazy shit you pulled during The War. Outmaneuvering the guys who hijacked the Normandy…not to mention Rannoch or Tuchanka."

He shifted and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah…well the hijacking was pretty short-lived."

"Skipper wanted to meet you," she sheepishly extended the dog tag. "Don't know if it's too much to ask, but…it seems right."

He took the chain and closed his fist around it. "It's an honor, Thirteen."

She let out a deep sigh. "Thanks, Steve…for listening…"

He smiled and hugged her. "You're not alone. Shepard told me that once."

"She is quite the inspirational speaker," her words were muffled through his shirt and betrayed the tears she was trying to hide.

He didn't do her the disservice of pulling away as she started crying quietly. He didn't want her to awkwardly have to turn and walk away. "I'm here for you, kid."

/

"Do you think perhaps she has a friend who's a little bit older?" Samantha moved a pawn on the chess board and looked across to Edi. They were in the mess hall, lights dim. The physical board Samantha had proudly picked up for nearly two thousand credits lit up and the white glow softly illuminated their faces.

Edi grinned. "With the implants?"

"I'm just saying," she waved her hands in the air. "Garrus said he'd find me a date the next time we were out on the town and there is a possibility now, is there not?"

Edi pulled her bishop across and took one of Samantha's castles.

"Oh bugger."

"I do not think a town would accurately describe the base Thirteen has talked about. However," Edi grinned, "it is not beyond reason there would be several very physically fit women who have cybernetics."

Samantha nearly tipped over a knight moving it. "Now you're just trying to distract me."

"Think about it. Special operative soldiers, unique training…perhaps even an engineer. Beauty and brains, correct?" Edi raised an eyebrow, pushing a castle forward two spaces. "No one to appreciate their unique physical state of human and machine working together seamlessly…"

Traynor sighed, moving another pawn. "You really think so?"

"Check mate."

"Now that was flat-out mean," Samantha's mouth dropped open. "Distracting me with thoughts of beautiful women with cybernetic arms or rib cages or spinal implants!"

"It is all strategy," Edi laughed. A clear, sweet sound that echoed in the hall. "And mine was better."

"A cruel strategy, but effective, I'll give you that," she grinned, clearing the pieces into a leather-covered box.

"You don't wish to be beaten again?"

"We should get some rest before tomorrow," she said, folding the board. "And I don't want you giving me loads of false hope about having a date for the first time in eons with women of my dreams who probably don't exist!"

"Oh alright," Edi conceded, standing. "Tomorrow, though. We should play again."

Samantha rolled her eyes. "The distraction is a very low blow."

"Perhaps I could just babble on the whole time? I know my voice—"

"Edi!"

She laughed again. "That was a joke."

"I knew I should have never talked to you again after Shepard's party. I just knew it," the two made their way toward the corridor. "Goodnight," she waved, breaking off toward the crew quarters.

"Goodnight," Edi nodded, stepping into the elevator.

/

"Rise and shine, good people of the Normandy!" Joker's voice echoed through the halls, bedrooms, and crew quarters. "Today we find Shepard and kick her ass for making us think she was dead for another two years!"

Jack pulled a pillow over her head as Miranda yawned, stretched her arms, and sat up. "Can't we turn that stupid thing off? His voice makes me want to stab spikes in my ears," Jack grumbled. Eezo jumped onto the bed and Miranda absently let him crawl under her arms, snuggle against her stomach.

"Up and at 'em! Wakie wakie! Cortez is in charge of breakfast today, so that should get everyone motivated!"

Miranda blinked and started for the shower after nudging Eezo away. "I think he likes hearing himself talk."

"No fucking shit."

"We will rename this day Shepard Isn't Dead Again Day! There will be cake!"

Jack moved the pillow slightly and glanced to Miranda, the varren making himself comfortable on her side of the bed. "We're stuck with him all day?"

She nodded drowsily. "All damn day."

"It is four AM on this wonderful Normandy time cycle…hey! Edi! No, I'm just letting them—" the line through the ship went dead after a moment of static.

"God bless Blondie's soul," Jack sighed, turning over again in the sheets. "I could almost kiss her for that."

/

After breakfast, the crew gathered in the shuttle bay, helping with armor snaps, gear checks, triple-checking canteens. Miranda and Chakwas ran over medical lists on their omni tools in a corner, Samantha and Edi had their heads bent over an old, analogue comm transmitter. The antennas poked into the air, crossing each other, the screen jumping and writhing with lines and numbers. The engines pulsed in a dull roar as Joker was maneuvering the ship into a landing position. They were only a few minutes to touch-down.

"Haven't been out in these conditions since your chunk of a planet, Grunt," Garrus pulled on his gauntlets and grinned over at the krogan. "Does it feel like home?"

"No Thresher Maws to kill? No Reapers to bring down?" Grunt sighed. "Shepard always found the big things."

"Like the Colossus that was guarding my door back on Haestrom?" Tali raised an eyebrow before securing her face plate.

"Yes!" Grunt laughed. "That's why I followed her! Big things! Good fights!"

Thirteen donned a paper-thin poncho-looking garment over her shirt. "You don't want to stop fighting?"

Grunt seemed to contemplate the words. "I don't know. There isn't much left to fight any more. But we found you!" he slapped her shoulder and she stumbled forward. "Good to know there are still enemies to take out!"

"Yeah," she looped two canteens around her shoulder. "Happy to help, I guess."

Kasumi shouldered her pack before helping Grunt into his. "She even had a slight amount of stealth in her. Not much, though."

"Why be stealthy when you're Commander fucking Shepard?" Jack laughed, kicking her heels against the crate she was sitting on. "I don't know why half our enemies didn't just lay down and die so we could have saved a little time!"

"The thrill, perhaps?" Kasumi pulled on the clear face plate, standard issue for the ground party; pounds of sand in noses, mouths, and eyes wouldn't do them any good. "That warm, fuzzy feeling when you choke someone out from behind and hide their body from the other patrolling guards?"

Jack crossed her arms. "Maybe I did underestimate you. Fucking nuts. I like it."

"Almost nothing compared to that tickle somewhere in here," she pointed to her chest, "when they start to panic as their numbers start dwindling. Of course by then it's too late."

"Goto strikes again," Garrus laughed. "Can't say I've ever had the pleasure of stealth mode. Not with Shepard around."

"Yeah," Ashley looked over from pulling on her chest plate, snapping the sides into place. "She tended to like big bangs. You know, like…nuclear-sized bangs. Like Virmire."

Liara looked over, silently pulling on her face plate. She remembered Shepard after Virmire. It seemed ages ago. How she'd been slumped at the edge of her bed, eyes puffy. She couldn't save everyone. She pulled on her gauntlets and stared at her hands. Could she hold her again? Feel the calloused hands gently slip into hers? A canteen was dropped into her fingers and she blinked, jarred into reality.

Cortez wove through the ground party, handing out two canteens each, except Grunt. He got four. "These should last you to the base," he pointed to Thirteen. "She's got the rations for the day, including some extra protein and carb bars in case you need to use your biotics for anything, as well as thermal hoods for when the sun sets," he nodded to Ashley. "Floor is yours, Commander."

Ashley clicked her sniper into place on her back and turned to the crew. "We're setting down in some mountains. Cover for the ship, along with some natural, magnetic rock that scrambles tracking. Our comms should still work, though. Edi and Traynor worked on it this morning as soon as we figured it out. Don't know what we'll find on our way, but it's always good to be prepared," she patted the submachine gun at her hip. "Ground party ready? That bay door opens in five and we're going to get Shepard."

Liara looked down at her pistol, tears stinging her eyes. Tali's hand closed on her forearm and she looked over. "Do you really think…"

Tali squeezed her arm lightly. "Perhaps you should be slightly more welcoming than you were back on Illium the first time she popped up back in the world of the living."

Liara holstered her gun, smiling. "I believe I call the first few hours of alone time."

"That…was too much information."

Thirteen turned, clear face plate in her hand, as Chakwas and Miranda walked over. "What's up?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Just making sure you're okay," Miranda said, scanning over her ribs with her omni tool. "You're going to do a considerable amount of climbing today. We aren't so sure your ribs will like it."

"Those sluts," Thirteen muttered. "They just get in the way."

"Indeed," Chakwas grinned. "However, we don't want you taking a tumble, hitting in just the right spot, and cracking one in half to puncture and collapse a lung."

"A lung?" Thirteen cocked her head to the side. "I hear those are important."

"Undoubtedly so," Chakwas held up a roll of hardening tape. "It'll be uncomfortable but it will keep that from happening."

Thirteen sighed and shrugged off her gear, untucked her shirt and yanked it up, giving access to her ribs.

Miranda felt an inward shudder. The scars running from under her belt, up her stomach. They were the same as Jack's. She glanced over to see the woman in question staring as well. She held out her hand for the gauze-like tape from Chakwas, wrapped it around Thirteen's middle, then scanned her omni over the entire thing. The tape hardened, almost like a shell. "There," she slapped her hands together. "Good as new."

"Thanks," Thirteen tucked her shirt back in, started pulling on her gear again.

"Like what you've done with your hair," Miranda grinned. Thirteen had re-shaved the left side, the stubble finally driving her crazy shortly before breakfast. The woman's fingers grazed over the scars left by the metal band and two dots above her ear. "Be careful out there, alright?"

"I am the poster child for safety and caution," she smiled, securing the clear face plate and starting to the door.

Jack hopped off the crate and put a hand on her shoulder. Thirteen turned. "Seriously," she said, her voice low. "Still…gotta' compare those scars," she attempted a carefree grin and failed miserably.

"Commander Williams doesn't trust me," Thirteen said quietly. "I know."

"Blue won't let anything happen," Jack looked over to Liara.

Thirteen followed her gaze. They stood for a moment, floor buzzing. "Do you have nightmares about it?" she asked quietly, not turning her head.

Jack nearly jumped at the question. She stared at the side of the girl's face for a long moment. "Sometimes."

"I do too," she murmured, then looked at Jack again.

The floor jolted and the ground team looked back expectantly to Thirteen.

"Let's go, cyborg!" Ashley shouted.

Thirteen nodded once and ran over to the ground party.

Miranda walked over to Jack and took her hand as the team jogged down the door and to the right, out of sight. The door closed and the comm link under Samantha and Edi cackled to life.

"Williams to Normandy. We good?"

"We read you," Samantha answered, letting out a breath she had been holding.

"Nightmares," Jack shook her head, squeezing Miranda's hand. "They'll get you every fucking time."

/

"Turians don't like the desert. Did I ever mention that?" Garrus mused. They were picking their way through a valley of sorts. The dark brown mountains stretched upward on either side of them, sand blowing harshly through the natural wind tunnel. The mountains were barren; nothing but more rocks could be seen on the surface. Every so often they could hear the harsh grating of a slab breaking off and falling away in the distance.

"Only ten times in the past three hours," Ashley sighed, tripping on a rock. She angrily kicked it away after righting herself, the dry scuffing echoing off the walls.

"You're as bad as a child!" Tali said, watching Thirteen begin an undignified scramble up a large boulder. "When will we get there? When is lunch? How much further?"

"Not true," he crossed his arms. "I ask much more interesting things."

"When do we get to shoot something?" Grunt offered. "That's my question."

"Hopefully we don't," Thirteen replied from the top of the boulder. She squinted forward as another blast of wind pulled the hood from her head.

"See? Now that's what I like to hear," Kasumi grinned and flung her pack bodily onto the boulder before backing up a few paces and running at it. She gracefully jumped off its surface, rebounded off the wall to their right, and flipped onto the top. She brushed her hands. "Sneaking!"

"Now you're just showing off," Garrus clicked his tongue, examining the obstruction.

Kasumi smiled down at the five still on the ground. "Maybe just a little."

"Good thing I brought these," Grunt held up a grenade.

Liara choked back a laugh.

"Grunt! What the hell!" Ashley looked over. "I said okay to weapons! It's not like there's a Reaper army we have to take down!"

"It's a weapon," he shrugged, then looked up at Kasumi and Thirteen. "Should probably move."

"All that climbing for nothing," Thirteen sighed.

"I was impressed," Kasumi patted her back. They both tossed their packs to the ground and started down the opposite side.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better," the girl grunted, foot slipping on a hold she had found. Her right arm flailed for a moment before she managed to hug the rock again.

The thief grinned. "Yeah. It was a little like watching a krogan try to do ballet."

"Flatterer," Thirteen glanced over, sweat trickling down the side of her face.

"I am, aren't I?"

She slipped again and fell to the ground on her back, air pushing out through her teeth in a graceless whoosh. She gasped for a moment and rolled onto her side.

Kasumi leapt to the ground and pulled on her pack again. "Astounding performance, kid."

"Yeah," she wheezed, struggling up. "It's okay. The rocks broke my fall."

"Is everything alright over there?" Liara called.

"Thirteen is teaching me to dance!" Kasumi answered, watching her as she shrugged on her pack.

"Oh really?" Tali's voice floated across. "Is she as good as Shepard?"

"Even better," Kasumi laughed and they retreated a short distance away.

Thirteen brought up her arm and a blue shield bubbled up around them. "Ready!" she shouted.

"Fire in the hole!" Garrus called.

/

"Williams to Normandy. Checking in for our sixth hour out."

"We read you," Samantha answered, feet propped on the table that housed the crude comm transmitter. "How's it going?"

"We're almost out of the mountains. Everyone's holding up fine. What about your end?"

She sighed, changing the page of the novel on the data pad in her hands. Eezo gave small, contented, varren-snores at her side. "Well, Eezo wore himself and Jack out several hours ago running around outside the bay. I think Miranda is about to go nuts without data to analyze, with the interference from the rocks…and Cortez is packing groceries."

He looked over from carrying a large bag of flour. "Joker said we would have cake. Don't want to disappoint!"

"And Edi and Joker are watching Blasto vids."

"Copy that. We'll check in in another two hours."

"Alright," Samantha shifted in her seat. "Have fun."

"Yeah," Ashley laughed shortly. "We'll try. Over and out."

/

Jack had flopped onto their bed two hours earlier after tossing off her leather jacket coated in rock-dust, hot from the unforgiving sun. She hadn't meant to drift off to sleep in the middle of a sentence talking to Miranda, but she had, and the dark haired woman looked over from an inventory list on a datapad in her hands. They still had some of Shepard's old things, it would be useful to bring them along. She ran her fingers lightly over her brow line, down her cheekbone; smiled at the ribbed white tank-top and loose jeans. She frowned as Jack started mumbling something. She leaned closer.

"Rodriguez…right…flank…" her eyebrows creased and her neck muscles flexed.

"Jack?"

"Bellarmine…" her breath hitched. "Watch the brute!" she started writhing, her words growing more frantic. "Prangley, help him!"

"Jack!" Miranda tossed the datapad to the side and took her shoulders. "Jack, wake up!"

"Rodriguez? Rodriguez?!"

"Jack!" Miranda shook her again, moved over on top of her to stop her from jumping up. Jack's eyes bolted open, wild, looking for the kids and enemies she had been shouting out. "No," Miranda breathed, stroking the side of her head. "It's not London. We aren't there."

"Rodriguez?" she nearly squeaked, confused. Her eyes were watery.

"She's alright," she answered, pressing their foreheads together. "You pulled her out remember? Recognized her 'ugly fucking boot'?"

"I don't leave them behind…" she started shaking. "Where's Rodriguez? She's always getting into…I had to…last time…pile of husks…"

"It's not London," Miranda whispered. "We aren't in London. The War is over."

Jack's hands slowly came up to rest on Miranda's shoulders.

"Come back to me, Jennifer," she murmured. "Come back. In and out…look at me. The War is over."

Jack's breathing slowly evened out and her eyes cleared.

"There you are," Miranda smiled, worry still plain on her face. "Are you with me?"

"It reminded me…watching Thirteen running out there…" she swallowed and averted her gaze, body still shivering. "Brave little shits…"

"Well, they were learning from _you…_someone who survived a suicide mission," she grinned wryly. "Did they have a chance at being anything other than brave and little shits?"

"No," Jack blinked tears down her face.

Miranda pulled their bodies together in a hug, knowing every familiar curve and contour of her lover's body. "You didn't leave anyone behind," her lips murmured against her neck. "You got them all out."

/

Their steps had ceased to crunch against rock and along gravel almost eight hours before. Their feet had started plunging through sand, kicking up a large cloud around them. The sun had beaten down mercilessly without the shelter of the rocks overhead and everyone had drained one full canteen. Two hours earlier, at the last check in, the sun had finally dipped below a fiery orange horizon and screaming cold had started raking at their cheeks, through their thin armor.

They plodded on through the dropping temperature, clear masks all but sand-blasted to oblivion. A skeleton of a burnt-out Mako passed by their left; remnants of fighter jets and shuttles jutted out of the sand like a giant child had thrown a tantrum with its toys.

"Alright," Ashley finally panted, cinching the thermal hood tighter around her head. They all had an angry sunburn lancing across their cheeks and noses; save for Tali, her tinted mask coming of more use than she had originally thought. "How much longer? This sucks."

Thirteen glanced back. "Five more minutes."

"You said that three hours ago," Garrus flexed his hands.

Kasumi laughed lightly.

"Figured you guys would catch on by now," Thirteen grinned, adjusting the pack on her back. "It's over this hill," she pointed to the large dune rising in front of them. "Promise."

"Deserts suck," Grunt grumbled.

"Well said," Liara agreed as they stopped at the foot of the dune. Like a huge sand beast trying to struggle away from the ground.

"Come on," Thirteen started up, sand swallowing her boots to her ankles. "Shepard is over this hill."

Liara was on her heels in an instant.

"I guess when you put it that way," Garrus started after them.

Ashley turned and scanned the mountains behind them, making a full sweep of the land to their backs. "Williams to Normandy," she pressed at the comm in her dust-coated ear. Samantha's familiar acknowledgement didn't come after several seconds. "Williams to Normandy?" She repeated, frowning at the mountain range. A line of jagged, broken teeth jutting up, stretching to the right and left. "Talk to me, Traynor!"

/

"What the hell are you doing?" Samantha kicked at the crate the transmitter sat on. "Come on!" she bent over it again, peering intently at the different dials. She punched in a code on her omni tool.

"Samantha? Is everything alright?" Edi's smooth voice asked from the orange as her face popped up on the small screen. Joker was next to her, arm around her shoulders. They were in their room.

"We have a problem," she rushed. "The transmitter just went dark."

"I will be right there."

"Wait! No, we only have five more minutes of Blasto-6!" Joker protested.

"Jeff, we can finish it at the base," Edi leaned over and kissed him.

"Oh fine. I'm going to finish it right now though!" he called as she started out of the room.

"Any ideas?" Edi asked.

"No, it's almost like something just completely killed it!" Eezo whined at Samantha's side. "Not now, Eezo!"

/

"You've got to be shitting me," Thirteen muttered, dropping to her stomach at the top of the hill. Their breath steamed out of sand and dust-coated throats to condense on their clear face plates. She yanked hers off and stared down the dune as the rest of the team, except Ashley, dropped next to her.

"Shepard!" Liara whispered, making as if to move forward.

"Hold it," Kasumi grabbed her forearm.

"Shepard's down there, and so are Thirteen's friends," Liara said, pulling her arm away. "We have to make sure they're okay."

"How did they find us?" Thirteen's eyes narrowed.

Nearly a dozen men patrolled around a haphazard maze of crates and vehicle skeletons, guns held loosely in their grips. Behind them rose a plain, unassuming two-story concrete building, stretching backward several hundred feet. Turrets were powered down along the roof along with a dismally turned-down satellite, and glass windows were broken along the stretch of wall they could see.

"Shepard's alright," the girl reached over and gripped Liara's shoulder. "We have an underground bunker keyed to our bio-codes. It's not easy to find. They would have advanced there if someone successfully breached the perem—" she was roughly yanked away and thrown on her back. The barrel of a sniper rifle leveled between her eyes.

"Start talking," Ashley hissed.

Thirteen held up her hands.

"Williams!" Garrus' whisper was dangerous. "What the hell are you doing?"

"We lost contact with the Normandy, there are not-Cerberus Cerberus guys patrolling where 'Shepard' is…" Ashley's eyes narrowed. "Smells like a set up to me."

"I would have saved myself a lot of time letting them take you on the Citadel," Thirteen stared at the gun an inch away from her face. "Why would I have told you to get in contact with James Vega? Why not turn you in at the space port yesterday?"

"Williams," Liara slowly rose into a crouch. "Take your gun off Thirteen."

/

"I've still got nothing!" Samantha frantically ran her hands through her hair as Edi opened the back of the transmitter.

"It's completely dead, not just down," Edi said.

"Hey guys, is Eezo down here?" Jack's boots clomped heavily toward them.

"Not now!" Traynor snapped, feeling her mind unraveling trying to figure out what could do that. Hostile tech? But no, the Normandy was shielded by the mountains. Did sending a signal through that transmitter somehow tip them off?

"Eezo!" Jack bent down, grabbing his head in her arms affectionately. "That was quite the game of fetch we had earlier, huh? Time for…hey guys?" she reached down and pulled up a cord. "Is this supposed to be plugged into anything?"

"Not now, Ja—" Samantha looked over and red rushed to her cheeks. "Quick! Plug it in!"

"Fuck!" Jack snapped it into the wall. "Not now, not now, plug it in—and people think I'm the fucking moody one. There, you happy?"

"Quick, Edi, the channels, what were they?"

"Yeah, you're welcome!" Jack called, starting back to the elevator with Eezo. "Jack saves the day a-fucking-gain!"

/

"They're looking for her, too," Grunt's voice could hardly be considered a whisper. Kasumi looked nervously over the dune again. "That's why they boarded the Normandy at the docks, remember?"

"Ash," Tali put a hand on her shoulder. "Think about what you're doing."

Ashley gritted her teeth and shoved the gun to Thirteen's forehead. "I don't trust it."

"Then I'm sorry," Thirteen said.

Before any of the squad had time to react, Thirteen's arms shot up and yanked the barrel aside, past her head, and into the sand, pulling Ashley closer. Her left leg kicked her square in the chest, sending all the air out from her lungs. She doubled over next to Thirteen but she rolled over and slapped her hands over her mouth to keep the sound from traveling.

Grunt giggled. "We should definitely keep her around," he nudged Garrus, who looked less than amused.

"Normandy to Williams!" Samantha's voice exploded in her ear. "Williams we're here!"

Ashely roughly shoved Thirteen away, still struggling to get a full breath. "What the fuck, Traynor? I thought the cyborg pulled some stunt like the Citadel, luring half of us away."

"It was…ah…Eezo…pulled the transmitter cord from the power source. Sorry. Working old school, didn't think to check it."

Ashley looked away. "We've got hostiles here. Don't know if they're aware Shepard is inside. We'll take them out quietly and report back once we're in the compound."

"Copy that. Normandy over and out."

The commander looked back to Thirteen, who held out her sniper to her. Her hand closed around the handle.

"I'm sorry," Thirteen murmured.

Ashley brushed sand from the end of the barrel and took a deep breath. "Ideas on how to get in there?"

Kasumi stretched out on her back and laced her fingers behind her head. "Well, we've got me and two snipers. We have stealth covered. My only concern is Lugnut over there, Liara, Tali, and Grunt."

Thirteen raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry," Kasumi waved a hand airily. "It's a term of endearment. I'm sure Vega would approve. He was always big on nicknames, wasn't he, Sparks?"

Tali shook her head. "So what do you suggest for the four…non-stealthy ones?"

"Hmm…" her eyes squinted to the cold, cloudless sky. "Wait for guard change. We slip down and then the fun begins."

"Jack really did underestimate you," Tali sighed. "Completely crazy. I'm glad you were on our side when we were taking on the Collectors."

"Yes you are," she grinned, closing her eyes.

/

"Ash," Liara whispered. The condensation in their face plates was starting to crystalize. Liara finally pulled hers off.

Ashley looked over.

"You owe her an apology."

She rubbed her forehead, frowning.

"What has gotten into you?"

"I know," she muttered. "I know I do," she looked over to Thirteen. She and Grunt were peering over the dune, eyes quick.

"You want the big one?" she murmured to Grunt.

"Heh heh…I want the two medium ones…and then I'll watch you take down the big one."

"You're on, big guy."

"She could have killed me," Ashley turned back to Liara.

"That's not who she is. She's one of Shepard's now, too."

"I'll apologize…it'll just…take a little time," Ashley reached over and patted her hand. "I got used to you, didn't I?"

Liara grinned. "Some days I feel as if that still remains to be seen."

"Guys! Showtime," Garrus hissed, propping up his sniper.

"Hey kid," Ashley said as everyone but she and the turian hopped over the lip of the dune.

Thirteen looked back.

"Nice hand-to-hand," she said.

The girl smiled and nodded before they continued down the dune.

"Alright, Commander, want to take bets on who can shoot squarer between the eyes?" Garrus asked.

"I don't know…could I possibly measure up to King of the Bottle Shooters?" she answered, sighting down her scope.

"What a low blow!"

"You did outshoot Shepard though."

"Mmhm. That's right. I still have to get that gun bronzed. Have a statue erected, maybe a little plaque where people can leave flowers in awe."

"Ever think she pulled that shot?" the grin was evident in Ashley's voice as they watched the rest of the squad duck into cover.

"Of course she did," he replied easily. "Not like I'm going to let her know I know that though. It was her good deed for the day."

/

"I don't like this crouching," Grunt attempted a whisper.

Tali reached over and put her hand over his mouth. "You don't like whispering either," her voice was barely audible.

Kasumi cloaked.

Soon, small X's and O's were being drawn in the sand.

"Aw, hugs and kisses," Grunt grinned.

His three visible friends turned their heads toward him.

"I saw it on Vaenia."

Thirteen shook her head and Liara sighed. "Of course you did," she smiled.

"Have you tried Fleet and Flotilla?" Tali asked.

"Do you have it? I can't find it on the extranet!" Grunt's voice raised in excitement. Tali and Thirteen lurched forward, their hands clamping over his mouth. "Smmry," he managed.

"Look at the plan, blabbermouths," Kasumi hissed.

The four's heads huddled together. Tali and Liara would flank left, Thirteen would head up the middle, and Kasumi and Grunt would take the right flank.

"Ash and Garrus will cover you," Kasumi tapped Thirteen's shoulder. "Let's go while they're still thinking about how cold it is out here compared to inside."

"Balls to the walls," Thirteen muttered as they all started running.

/

"Target in sight…behind tall crates. Anyone looking?" Ashley whispered.

"Take it."

There was a silent 'thwup' and not a second later, the man fell. Thirteen poked her head around the corner and raised her hand toward the dune slightly before continuing around the corner.

"Don't let me have all the fun," Ashley grinned. "Target at her four, approaching toward her six. Got him?"

"Anyone looking?"

"Take it."

"And…I've still got it. King of the Bottle Shooters is in the house. I'll be signing autographs later."

/

Grunt's hand shot out and closed around a man's windpipe as he rounded a corner, nearly smacking into him. "Heh," he clenched his fist and the man stopped struggling. "Sneaking is kind of fun," he looked to his left.

"Over here, Grunt."

He looked to his right. "Sneaking is kind of fun."

"I'll make a master thief out of you yet," Kasumi patted his shoulder. "I'll check by that helicopter over there. Think I saw one earlier."

/

Tali crossed her arms. "You know, not that I don't expect to find thousands of things to hack here, but it seems like Jack's stasis could possibly be a little more subtle than an attack drone right now."

Liara shrugged as she screwed a silencer onto her pistol. "You never know."

"Maybe if you would get Glyph back up and running, he could talk them all to death."

"Yes, I've been meaning to take a look at his circuit board. Remind me when we're back on board," she fired a silenced round into the woman's head in her stasis field. "I wonder if he would have been synthesized had he been online during the flash."

"Keelah. Could you imagine a real person-thing that annoying?" Tali peered around their cover and put a finger to her face plate.

A man walked past and she looped her arms around his neck and twisted. He fell silently.

"Who taught you that?" Liara raised her eyebrows.

"Wrex had a trip to Rannoch a few months ago," she grinned. "Some krogan have shown interest in doing something like a pilgrimage, so we were giving him pointers. Of course we snuck off to do some arms and combat training in our down time."

/

Thirteen crouched between two crates. She could hear two sets of footsteps from opposite sides. She craned her head. Garrus and Ashley wouldn't have clear shots from their angle. "Shit," she muttered.

"Hey, you hear something?"

Her breath caught in her throat.

"Cold air getting to your head?" a woman's voice shot back. "Nut up or shut up."

"No, seriously…it came from over there."

"I don't see a thing."

Thirteen took the chance and popped up. Their backs were to her, and the man was slightly farther ahead than the woman. She rushed forward, blade sliding out, and ran it through her neck. She cringed at the sudden warmness rolling down her arm as the man turned and opened his mouth to call for help. She took a leap and her left arm slammed directly into his chest.

They were both blown apart from each other with a loud zapping noise.

Thirteen's vision blurred and she staggered up, trying to put together the double images. The man yanked an assault rifle from his back but Thirteen managed a lucky guess and pierced through his throat, severing his spinal cord. She wiped the blade in the sand before retracting it and rubbing her head. "Fuck. Hell of a thing," she muttered, dropping to cover again.

/

"All clear!" Ashley shouted, starting down the hill, clipping her sniper onto her back again.

"Not bad, Williams. You may even get a spot in my history book," Garrus nudged her. They caught up with the group at the entrance to the building.

"Are you alright, Thirteen?" Liara put a hand on her shoulder.

The girl swayed slightly. "I forgot for a second. We've got an electromagnetic booster thing," she pressed her hand over her heart. "Can't kill us that easy," she grinned lopsidedly. "It'll electrocute you. Unless you've got your own," her grin faded as they readied at the door and a set of broken windows.

"Aren't we having fun?" Kasumi de-cloaked and grinned. "Even Grunt has a knack for this."

"Heh heh heh. Krogan being sneaky. Next thing you know, we'll be dancing."

"Oh, I proved that can happen earlier," Thirteen ran her hand over her ribs briefly and winced. The brief flicker of pain didn't escape Liara's notice. "Kasumi saw."

/

"Williams to Normandy. We've got the compound clear. Just wait for our signal and you can bring the rest of the gang."

Joker nearly exploded. "Yes! Goodness, it took them long enough! Shotgun!" he started slowly toward the shuttle.

"Fight you for it!" Jack called, running past with Eezo.

"Jack, don't you dare!" Miranda warned.

"Copy that," Samantha smiled. "See you soon. Over and out."

"And Shepard," Edi whispered, looking away.

Samantha glanced up. "What's on your mind?"

"Do you ever wonder…what happened up there?"

Samantha nodded.

"She is the reason I can love Jeff and this crew. She is the reason that when I heard Thirteen ranting down the tunnel, some instinct came over me and I had to find her…is there any way I could ever truly…thank her? I felt alive before…but…I am alive. And I have her to thank for it."

"Edi," Samantha reached over and gripped her hand lightly. "Whatever happened, I'm sure she was proud of you and everything you had done…and I think the fact that you've done the things you have would be thanks enough for Shepard."

Edi felt a familiar feeling in her chest. Like someone was squeezing it. Tears stung her eyes. A rare occurrence in the presence of anyone other than Joker. "I've missed her."

"It may be a bit of a shock, just bear in mind," Samantha smiled, "the last time she saw you, you were chrome."

"Perhaps I could play a joke on her!" her eyes lit up.

"Or you could just tackle-hug her like the rest of us are planning to do," her friend grinned. "She's going to get lots of tackling done soon."

"Particularly by Liara."

"Okay, Edi. Too much information."

/

"They were close," Tali muttered as Thirteen entered a code on a wall safe and paced across the room to a tall metal bookshelf. She pulled and it slid to the side to reveal an iron door, vault-like.

"How long do you think we have before they were supposed to report?" Ashley asked as Thirteen rapped at the door.

Liara pulled up to the girl's side, hands fidgeting together.

"Hey!" Thirteen shouted. "It's clear up here!"

"Thirteen?!" someone bellowed back. "No fucking way!"

"Watch your language around the kid!"

More unfamiliar voices.

"Sorry."

"How do we know it's you?!"

Thirteen sighed. "Because the door is keyed to my bio-code too, and I'm letting you open it. Is Shepard alright?"

A familiar voice. Liara's heart jumped into her throat and her vision blurred around the edges. The voice she would have given nearly anything in the galaxy to hear again just once more. The rest of the squad seemed floored as well. They looked between each other.

"Did you ever doubt us?" she laughed. "Where the hell have you guys been?" the door beeped and it opened.

Liara felt as if all the breath in her body was pulled out with a single, surprised look from the woman. "Shepard."


	10. Chapter 10

"Liara?" Shepard took a step forward. She was still every inch Commander, even in complete civilian attire. A t-shirt hugged her sleek frame over another long-sleeve, both habitually tucked into a pair of well-worn jeans that sat comfortably at her hips.

"Shepuuuuuuurd!" Grunt howled, moving startlingly fast for his bulk. He picked her up in a hug. "Hahahahaaa! Shepard!"

"Grunt—I can't…I," she started laughing breathlessly. "I can't breathe, Grunt!"

"Who needs to breathe?" he bellowed, dropping her to her feet. "Not Commander Shepard!"

"Yeah, I dropped the commander part a while ago," she smiled. The cold husk of what had once been an office seemed to warm. Moonlight slanted through the broken window; even the wind had stopped its violent gusts for a few minutes.

"What? Commanderless Shep?" Kasumi leaned easily against the wall. "No way."

Shepard jumped and shook her head. "Believe it, Goto."

"Pretty nasty trick you played, making us think you were dead and all," Kasumi smiled.

"Made up for not coming with us during The War," Shepard shot back, grinning.

"You'll always be Commander to us," Ashley said, throwing a salute before hugging her.

Shepard's eyes locked with the asari's once again over Ashley's shoulder.

Thirteen cinched her hood tightly and hid her left arm before murmuring something to Tali.

"Sorry," Garrus held up his hands and moved between the woman and Liara. "Two more before then. I know she won't be letting go any time soon," he grinned and took Shepard's shoulders. "Spirits," he muttered, shaking his head. "I was getting a little worried you'd be getting drunk up there in that bar without me."

"I have no idea what he's talking about," Tali sidled next to him and crossed her arms. Thirteen slipped back into the hallway. "But Shepard…it's…we…" she shook her head and hugged her. "Keelah. No more stunts like that, alright?"

"Promise," she grinned.

Garrus and Tali moved aside.

Liara felt rooted to the spot. Her legs wouldn't respond to her mind screaming to run and embrace her. She opened her mouth and found she couldn't form words. She attempted to clear the remnants of outside from her throat; her mouth was dry from the cold. Her gaze dropped to the sand-covered patterns in hopelessly frayed carpet.

She would be waking up soon. She knew it. This wasn't possible. She could never actually touch Shepard in her dreams. She just vanished—smoke in the wind.

She would be gone and she would wake up, the hollow feeling in her chest threatening to swallow her. She could hear Ashley radioing to the Normandy.

Familiar hands took her face into them, and soon she was gazing into the eyes she knew so well.

This wasn't a dream.

Liara wrapped her arms around her neck, pulled their bodies together.

It was Shepard.

"Is it me?" she whispered. Her hands slid down to the asari's waist.

Liara could feel the fear and uncertainty radiating from her, could even piece together timidity from her words. She'd been afraid of the very same thing after Cerberus brought her back. "Yes," she murmured, her hand sliding to the back of her head, bringing her closer. "It's you."

Liara's lips closed over hers; earnest, passionate. Shepard's hands hooked under the back plate to her armor, warmth seeping through to her skin, breath hot in Liara's mouth. Their tongues danced against each other as Liara gently slid a hand onto the woman's bicep. She gave a nearly-silent moan before breaking their lips apart, foreheads still pressed together. "Sorry," she said, words shallow, heartbeat drumming in her ears. "We have an audience."

Shepard closed her eyes and took a deep breath, not daring to move away from her yet.

"I love you," Liara whispered, reaching up to brush away a tear from her face. Her hand lingered at her cheek.

"I love you too, Shepard," Garrus called. "Where's my kiss?"

"Shut up!" Tali whacked his arm. "Shepard, Thirteen said she and…the others are…going up to work on the turrets and to let you know about the shuttle coming in."

"Thirteen!" Shepard's eyes snapped open and she took a step away from Liara, one hand remaining on the small of her back. "The others?! Are they up top?!"

"She said…" Tali looked away briefly. Liara felt guilt gnawing away inside her chest. There were no others. Thirteen was letting Shepard have a few minutes of good news. "She said they were going to search bodies and make sure they didn't report this location, and do any information fabrication they needed to. Said…that…they could wait until morning."

"Are they kidding? I haven't seen them in three months!"

"She wants you to catch up first," Tali flinched, hoping Shepard hadn't noticed the singularity of the statement. She, not they.

Shepard was torn, they could tell from the way she looked toward the doorway. She finally conceded. "You guys have to meet the rest of my cr…ah…"

"Crew?" Garrus crossed his arms. "How dare you go around making friends?" he laughed. "Well, we've been more than a little impressed so far. How many do you have here?"

"Including the ones you brought back and me? Twenty."

Liara felt another stab of guilt. Thirteen said six…the number was fourteen. She could see Garrus do the quick math in his head as well.

"You know one, though," she grinned. "Guys!" she called. "What are you waiting for? A written invitation?! Massani, get your ugly mug up here!"

Grunt gave an elated giggle. "Hahahaa! Zaeed!"

"I thought I heard some crazy tank-bred killing machine," he emerged from the doorway and threw his arms open wide. "Good to see you, Grunt."

"What?!" Tali looked between Zaeed and Shepard. "How did…what did…what?!"

"Turns out," the old mercenary stretched his arms and rolled his neck, "crazy Alliance outlaws are just the sort of people I like to run with. Smuggling people across planets?" he winked. "Couldn't pass that up. Now where's the rest of the crew?"

"On their way," Shepard said. "Thirteen and the others are out being practical, making sure our base stays secure. How boring."

"Ha!" Zaeed reached over and punched Grunt's arm. "I knew they'd make it! I owe them a drink! Tough bastards, every one of them!"

"Junior, that's a big-boy word, you're not allowed to say that until you're older," an unfamiliar woman's voice sounded from the doorway. She was tall, not a year or two older than Thirteen, with thick, sweeping dark hair, bronze skin, and chocolate eyes. A boy at her side reached up to hold her hand, his other small fist rubbing at his big, pale green eyes. The woman smiled warmly. "I'm Rio. We've heard a lot about the Normandy crew. Glad to finally meet you in person."

"Brock?" the boy yawned. "Where's Brock?" He was wearing an oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants.

"Where are they?" Rio looked around the room. "They must have found you and brought you here, right? Bronx and everyone? Thirteen, Nine, Vancouver…Soldier Nine, London, Eight?"

Liara felt pinpricks of ice spreading across her skin as she saw the thin, gold band around her left ring finger.

"Doing recon," Shepard answered. "Typical, right?"

A towering, muscled young man stepped through the doorway, his sky-blue eyes sweeping the room from under shaggy, sand-colored hair.

"I can help," Rio scooped up the boy and he yawned. "Lincoln, can you put Junior to bed?"

"'M not sleepy," the boy protested, eyes already drooping.

"You've had enough adventure for tonight," Rio whispered, smiling.

The bear of a man turned out to be Lincoln. He grinned and held out his arms. Junior crawled over, dwarfed by muscles as he put his head against the table of Lincoln's chest.

"'M not sleepy, Lee," he mumbled.

"Mmhm," Lincoln's voice was a deep, throaty bass. He nodded to the crew before leaving the room, followed by Rio.

Tali watched the woman turn down the hallway, stomach rolling. Thirteen hadn't told her what to do if anyone else wanted to go up. She couldn't stop her now. What could she say? _Wait, I want to…ask you about your hair?_ No. The damage had been done. She looked back to Liara; could see the same concern beginning to creep onto her features.

They would all have to find out eventually.

/

Rio steeled herself for an icy gust of wind as she opened the door onto the roof. It was the only place where signals could be sent. The bodies had looked searched; the next logical step would be getting the defenses back up and running—getting two things done at once. Misinformation and turrets. She looked around, cold sand clawing across her cheeks. "Bronx?" she called.

A lone figure stepped from behind the satellite.

"Thirteen!" she rushed forward but stopped at the outstretched hand. She was looking down and away. "Where…" Rio felt blood rushing to her face, her heart pumping faster. This couldn't be good. "Where is everyone?"

Thirteen blinked slowly.

Why did she have her arm under her poncho like that?

"Are you okay? Do you need Seven to take a look at you?"

The two stood motionless for a long minute. The wind died down again and Rio could hear her murmuring something.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" Thirteen looked up. Her eyes were bloodshot from sand and sunburn, nose running from the cold, the red across her cheeks and nose accentuated from the blasts of sand that had been coming over the roof. Her voice broke and she sank to her knees. "I'm sorry…"

"Thirteen?" Rio looked around again. She was alone. "Where is everyone?"

"They're gone," she choked. "They got us."

Rio felt as if the Destiny Ascension itself had slammed through her chest. She tried to find words but none came.

"They…" Thirteen reached up with her right hand and pulled down the hood. Rio heard herself gasp. "Did things," she continued, easing her arm from under the fabric. She flexed the hand a few times. "They…they're…" she shook her head, looked to the ground. "All of them. Nine…Bronx…" her body started shaking. "Soldier Nine…Coover…Eight…London…" her eyes flicked back to her. "Rio," she sobbed, holding up her left hand, extending the blade. "They made me…and they…the mind thing…"

Rio stared at the extended blade. "Thirteen…" she whispered.

"They'd always remember," she continued wild, broken, sobbing as she retracted the weapon into forearm plates. "Right at the end…and they…Bronx," she reached into her collar and pulled out the dog tags. Seven, including hers. "He was…he was thinking…of…he loved you," her fingers fumbled with the metal squares. "He loved you…so much and…it's me here and…it's not…"

Rio clamped her hands over Thirteen's, squeezed them tightly, tears running down her face. "It's okay, Thirteen."

"It's not fair!" she sobbed, putting her forehead to Rio's hands. "I can't…I can't…" she was panting, struggling for air. "Man down…I…"

"Thirteen!" Rio took her face in her hands. They were Delta again for a split second, the sand acrid smoke clogging throats. she had no doubt Thirteen could see the bodies strewn around them. Rio could almost feel the weight of her armor on her chest and arms, of her sniper strapped across her back. "Come on, Vanguard! In and out…in and out…good. One more…there. You can. You can breathe. It's sand, Thirteen. It's just sand."

Thirteen followed the breathing instructions, trembling. "I'm sorry," she finally sniffed. "Please…can you…can you forgive me?"

Rio pulled her into a hug. "There's nothing to forgive, Three," she murmured, tears blurring her vision once again. She stared into the freezing sky for several minutes over her friend's quaking shoulder. "Did they have control of them?" she finally asked.

"No…not at the end…not when they were…" Thirteen's breath caught. "He didn't go on his knees."

"Thank you," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. "Thank you."

After they pulled apart, they sat side-by-side, staring to the dark outline of the mountains. They could hear the shuttle approaching after an hour.

"Shepard," Rio murmured.

"I know," Thirteen said, eyes following the Kodiak speeding to the base. "I wanted her to have some good news first. Let her have one nice fucking night."

Rio swallowed the emotions threatening to push up her chest again and stood, extended a hand. "Well come on, Three. You're no engineer or sentinel. You can hand me wrenches and bolts. We need these turrets up again. Find anything on the bodies?"

Thirteen let Rio help her up and nodded. "Reported that the lead was a fluke. I'm guessing we have a few days of quiet before they figure out that team isn't coming back."

Rio and Thirteen watched the rest of the Normandy crew piling out of the shuttle, could hear the elated shouts as Shepard ran forward and embraced them. Rio suddenly turned and grabbed Thirteen in a hug. "I'm glad you're alive. We thought…we thought we lost all of you."

/

Shepard and Zaeed led the Normandy crew through the building. Upon closer inspection, it was nothing more than a shell of what had once been a science facility. Bulky comm hubs in layers of sand and dust sat awkwardly next to desks that hadn't been used in years, datapads piled haphazardly on the surfaces. Liara chanced to pick one up and glance over the data. She couldn't help but laugh. Air quality measurements from nearly ten years before. She passed the information to Miranda who also giggled.

"Whose idea was this?" Miranda asked, waving the datapad. "Abandoned building. Lovely."

"Rio," Shepard grinned as Zaeed kicked aside a desk to a low bio-scanner at the back of the compound. He pressed his hand against it and an unmarked door in the corner swung open to a long hallway. "Old air quality testing facility. They gave up a while ago, but still left some good stuff behind," she waved them into the hall. It continued down slightly. "Like the living quarters."

"What," Garrus waved his hand in the air. "Don't like the broken windows and sand? I thought it was homey."

"It's somethin' all right," Zaeed pressed his hand to another bio-scanner and the door at the end of the hall opened to a large, dome-shaped room. It looked like a kitchen and mess hall had wedged itself firmly into another office space. Several more corridors branched off from the room like a giant wagon wheel.

Lincoln sat at one of the mess tables with another woman, but it looked as if everyone else had gone back to bed. He raised his hand slightly.

"Now that…" Cortez whistled, "is a kitchen!"

"Cake?" Joker asked excitedly, looking between Cortez and Edi. "Right?"

"You know," Tali rubbed the back of her neck, "cake doesn't seem like such a bad idea after fourteen hours in this stupid desert."

"Only took us an hour," Jack grinned.

"With air conditioning," Tali put her hands on her hips. "Our desert gear was hardly adequate in that area of comfort."

"All that walking for nothing," Grunt mumbled. "Could have just flown in and taken them out."

Kasumi nudged him. "But the sneaking, Grunt!"

"Not to mention they would have reported during the time it took us to shoot through them all," Ashley added. "Guess the cyb…" her words trailed off. "The idea panned out."

Shepard's head turned to Ashley, an obvious question written across her face.

Before she could voice it, the woman sitting with Lincoln stood and walked over, grin plastered across her features. Her dark hair was swept back into a pony-tail, but a mess of bangs at the right side of her face fell across one of her dark blue eyes. "Piss on my head and call it rain," she said, offering a salute. "Vanguard Twelve of Lima-One, significant mission in Detroit. Honor to meet you, Normandy."

"Another vanguard, huh?" Jack laughed. "Shit, Shepard. Just point her and Thirteen in the direction of the guys you want dead. Give them a week," she held out her hand.

The girl laughed and shook the outstretched tattoos. "Sometimes we thought Shepard was making up half the shit she said," she looked around at the faces. "Good to know she didn't."

Traynor's eyes flitted to her arms. She couldn't help it. Both had obvious implants, almost like elbow braces. A metal band at the middle of the bicep, with rods extending to just above her elbow, where another band ended them. A series of small, intricate joints could be seen dimly glowing red under her skin, across her elbow, where they connected to another metal strip circling around the top of her forearm.

"Oh," Detroit moved her hands in an attempt cover them. "Yeah. Forget it's not…" she looked away. "Normal."

"No!" Samantha felt her cheeks burning. "I just…was ah…well, Thirteen. You know, we aren't complete newbies," she stammered, fully wishing she could melt into the polished concrete floor. The grin from Edi wasn't helping. "To the…I mean, she told us about…"

"Specialist Traynor finds cybernetics attractive," Edi offered. "She was not offended. You may call her Samantha."

Samantha lowered her head and shuffled behind Garrus, putting her back to his. "Kill me now."

The turian laughed. "Not a chance!"

"Oh," Detroit breathed. "Good. Not everyone is as understanding."

"About that cake…" Tali looked over to Cortez. "Are the groceries in the shuttle still?"

"Yeah," he grinned and looked over to Samantha. "Traynor? Want to help—"

"Yes!" she gushed. "God, yes!"

Liara squeezed Shepard's hand as she recognized the grin on her face. "Shepard…" she whispered.

"Hey, Detroit, I'm sure they could use a hand," Shepard said, completely disregarding the half-hearted warning. She smiled at the death glare she received from Samantha. "We can have Nine or Seven key in their bio-codes in the morning. But for now, you can open the doors."

"Ten-four," Detroit nodded. "So," she said as they started back toward the hall. "Steve fucking Cortez. We heard some crazy shit down on Earth during The War. Even through some of our outposts during Collector attacks."

"Oh boy."

Tali shook her head. "Shepard."

"I couldn't resist," she grinned.

"Here we go again," Chakwas put her hand to her forehead. "Shepard, savior of the galaxy, matchmaker to all."

"My middle name is Cupid."

"Your middle name is a lot of things, Commander."

"Yeah…and these guys," she waved toward the halls branching off, evidently referring to several rooms, "added 'fucking' in there…several times. Of course I think that's their go-to middle name for anyone." She pointed to the table where Lincoln was sitting, peering down at a single-person game of cards. "We have a lot to catch up on, don't we? I wish the others would hurry up and get down here," she looked toward the hall. "Brave little…" she shook her head as they made their way to the table. "Well, some of them not so little," she patted Lincoln's shoulder lightly.

He offered a smile.

"You've been up almost forty hours, Lincoln…you should get some rest," she said. "The days are long enough without perimeter breaches."

"I'm waiting," he answered, voice rumbling across the table with surprising gentleness.

"You need to sleep," she pressed. "I promise I'll come wake you up when they come back in."

Seeming satisfied with her word, he stood and nodded to the crew, touched his forehead lightly before starting to one of the corridors.

Shepard eased into a seat next to Liara. "Not all of them took everything too well…" she said as soon as Lincoln was out of earshot. "I guess on his last recon, him and his team were searching through what had been a civilian safe zone. He saw a lot of dead kids…the others say he wasn't the same."

"Goddess," Liara took her hand, grazed her thumb across the back of it.

"They're good kids. Good friends," Shepard said. "Family."

"Yeah, they kind of grow on you after a while," Zaeed propped his boots onto the table and threaded his fingers behind his head. "Like a fungus."

Miranda rolled her eyes and smiled. "Speaking of growing, Shepard, your arms look much less twiggy."

She grinned and flexed slightly. She wasn't bulky by any means, but her arms had filled out with tight, corded muscles. Liara giggled and ran a finger down her bicep lightly. "What do you think?" Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose I could decide later," she answered quietly, one corner of her mouth turning upward. She was rewarded with the tips of Shepard's ears turning red.

"We never had our head-butt," Grunt's words were genuinely disappointed.

"Maybe later," Shepard grinned. "When it's not the middle of the night to me…very early hours of the morning, now, I guess."

"Commander," Chakwas leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table. "How did…what happened up there?"

Shepard looked away and Liara could feel her tense. She leaned close and pressed her lips to her shoulder. "Sorry," the woman said, eyes locking on Edi. "I uh…it…um…"

"No," Chakwas held up a hand. "No, I'm sorry. You'll share in your own time."

"Thank you," she breathed, squeezing Liara's hand.

"Who's helping with the cake?!" Cortez boomed from the hall as the door opened again. He was followed by Samantha and Detroit, both toting arms full of ingredients and groceries. He held three large bags of flour.

"Cake!" Joker pulled himself up and started toward the kitchen. "Damn, Cortez! Making enough to feed an army?"

"If these guys want ten cakes each, then that's what we'll give them," he answered, flopping the bags onto a counter and slapping his hands together. A white cloud billowed up and he blinked several times. "We owe them a lot more than just that."

Detroit hefted her bag onto the counter and glanced over to Shepard. "I tried to tell them we aren't owed a single damn thing…they don't listen well, do they?"

"Fucking right!" Jack called.

"Yeah," Samantha offered as she put her bag on the counter, "we tend to be a rather…hard-headed bunch."

"Come on," Shepard stood up, pulling Liara along with her. "All hands on deck. Let's make these guys some cake. And some for us, too."

"This is going to be disastrous," Miranda glanced at Jack.

"I'm a fucking wonderful cook," she said as they got up.

"I know," she replied.

Jack laughed and kissed her. "Aw, don't worry. You and Grunt can crack eggs or mix shit."

Shepard froze, a huge smile beginning to split her face.

"What are you doing?" Miranda looked over.

"I was right!" she shouted. "You and Jack!"

Jack looked over. "Shepard, as much as you are a hopeless romantic at heart, we all know you can't fucking cook. You're on stick-the-cake-in-the-oven duty."

"What? I can't even crack eggs with Grunt and Miranda?"

"No," Liara smiled.

"I'm wounded!" she put her hand to her chest. "I can't believe you don't trust me to crush some eggs!"

"That, right there, is why you're not allowed," Garrus waved a finger.

"What? What'd I say?"

"Crush," Ashley crossed her arms. "You don't crush eggs into things, Shepard. You crack them."

Shepard waved her hand in the air. "Crack, crush—smash smush. It's all the same."

Grunt nodded seriously. "Spoken like a true krogan."

/

The night wore on with cheap shots at each other, loud guffaws and more than one wooden spoon broken over Grunt's head plates as he would keep trying to steal mouthfuls of batter.

"Stealth, Grunt," Kasumi whispered, passing him a pan. "Channel your inner thief."

"Stealth," he muttered. "Stealth…" he attempted to tilt it up quickly to his mouth and was rewarded by another whack from Chakwas.

"There is no such thing as stealth mode when I'm around," she waved the spoon under his batter-covered nose.

He sighed heavily, finally relenting that perhaps his inner thief wasn't master enough.

They kept laughing at each other and Shepard, stretching the limits of their exhaustion as others started trickling in from the halls, rubbing sleep from their eyes.

"Detroit," Shepard finally said, wiping flour from her cheek, "could you get them set up with rooms?"

"Yeah," she wiped her hands on her shirt, adding more butter to the dried, crusted cake batter covering most of it. "So…" she looked through the team. "One double…" she pointed between Jack and Miranda. "Two double…" her finger moved to Edi and Joker. "And single rooms for the rest?"

"You have that many rooms?" Chakwas asked.

"We don't like sleeping alone," she rubbed absently at her elbows. "We all have two or three roommates. Leaves a lot of rooms."

Jack stifled a yawn. "Lead the way, kid."

"You know what," she said as she started toward one of the halls, "I'm only a couple years younger than Traynor."

Edi stopped as Shepard's hand landed on her shoulder. She turned. "Shepard?"

Dark circles hovered under her happy eyes. "I…I never got a chance to tell you, Edi. How proud I was. So…damn…proud. I never thought to tell you until…until it was…until I…"

Blue, red, and green flashed across her vision. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Until it was too late…or…I thought it was too late."

Edi felt her beginning to tremble.

"You…reminded me of…things I fought for. Things I fight for," she swallowed hard. "Reminded me of things I was…am…willing to die for."

"I am alive because of you, Shepard," she whispered, feeling a lump in her own throat as she watched her commander struggle with her words. "I now know what it means to love. I love Jeff and our crew. I love you, too, Shepard," she hugged her tightly. "I have missed you."

"I missed you too, Edi," she sniffed.

Edi pulled away and squeezed her arm affectionately.

"Damn," Shepard wiped at her eyes. "The others have been gone forever," she looked toward the hall. "It's about time I saw them."

"Shepard…" Edi looked over to Liara. "There…there is…" she turned away, unable to meet the open, honest eyes.

Liara took her hand. "Shepard," she whispered. "Thirteen…made Tali tell you they were up there…"

"Where'd they go?" Shepard's eyes widened. "They couldn't have left again. I thought they got themselves killed last time! We have to find another way to…" her stomach flipped as Liara looked up, met her gaze.

"Thirteen is the only one who made it back," she murmured. "We found her on Noveria."

"What?" Shepard took a step back, eyes suddenly far away.

"They had been…" Liara reached over but Shepard jerked away as though her hands were fire. "Shepard…"

"No!" she was sprinting to the hall, slamming open the door.

Edi ran her hand through her hair. "Should we have…told her?" she asked quietly.

"I couldn't go much longer," she murmured back. "She needed to know," she clasped her hands together and looked toward the hall leading outside.

"Should we be worried?"

Liara felt something cold wrapping around her chest. Fear. "She's lost people before…it will take time. But they will pay for what they did to her family."

/

Shepard burst outside, sun already baking the sand. It had only been up for an hour. She squinted, held a hand up to try and shield her eyes. "Thirteen!" she shouted, looking back and forth frantically. She started forward, feeling desperation clawing up her throat with her words. "Thirteen! Where are you? Thirteen!" she rounded a corner of the building to find her leaning against the wall. Her voice caught in her throat as she turned slowly, the chain heavy with tags in her right hand. She ran forward, nearly stumbling in the sand, and grabbed her in a hug.

"They're…gone…" she murmured. "All six of them…"

"I know," Shepard gritted her teeth, trying to keep the howl of pain in her mouth. "I know they are," she pulled back slightly at the feel of something unfamiliar at the girl's left shoulder. "What…"

Thirteen raised her left hand, staring through Shepard. "They're still testing."

Shepard stared at the arm for a moment. "They…took your…"

The plates slid quietly into the blade and clicked. "They found a way to control them. Put us against each other," she whispered, eyes flicking to meet Shepard's. They slowly focused back on reality. "It was me, Shepard. I killed them. I'm…the monster."

Shepard gripped her shoulders, tears streaming down her face. "Don't say that. You're not."

Thirteen let the blade retract. "I don't understand."

"Neither do I," she pulled her into a hug again. They clung to each other; broken warriors shimmering in the heat. "Noveria, huh?" she managed.

"I guess we were right," Thirteen said from her shirt. "Why do you smell like cake?"

They started giggling. Desperate, borderline hysterical. "We…we made cake," she sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "We made cake."

"Nine fucking loved cake," Thirteen said, pulling away, staring toward the mountains. They sat down in the scorching sand and Shepard put an arm around her shoulders.

"She did," Shepard sighed.

"We're going to get them, aren't we?" Thirteen asked, raking a small patch of sand with her left hand. "We're going to stop this."

"Yes," she answered firmly. "You don't mess with people I care about. They made a big mistake. First with my crew, and now with you guys."

Thirteen nodded. "Rio said we have two days…two and a half max before they come back with numbers not even we could handle."

Shepard crossed her legs and took a deep breath. "But…we have right now."

Thirteen managed a smile and crossed her legs. "Samara?"

"Sometimes I wish I hadn't blabbed all my stories," she looked over. "I would make you guys think I'm much cooler than I am with all my stolen ideas."

Thirteen mirrored the deep breath and rested her wrists on her knees after lying the dog tags neatly in front of her. "We do have right now."

"Just a few minutes," Shepard said, staring at the metal tags, the lump returning to her throat. "Then we'll…break the news."

The girl nodded. "I can."

"We," Shepard said firmly. "You aren't alone now, Three. We will."

Thirteen heaved a deep sigh that seemed to come from her weary soul. "You're so damn pushy."

"Well you're bad at this whole 'just exist together without talking' thing," she shot back, grinning.

Thirteen squinted her eyes. "So are you."

They shared a pained smile and looked back to the dog tags, wavering in the heat.

They sat there for nearly half an hour, until sweat was running down their backs and plastering hair to their foreheads. Shepard finally stood and extended her hand. "Come on," she whispered. "It's time."

Thirteen grabbed the tags and accepted the help.

"Nice haircut, by the way."

"You think?" she ran her left hand over her scalp. "Pretty sure it's gonna' be all sunburnt to fuck later."

"Probably," she squeezed her shoulder lightly as they started back through the building.

"Shepard?"

"Yeah?" she looked back.

"Thanks."

Shepard nodded. "Three," she started haltingly, "you didn't kill them. You know that?"

"Maybe," she whispered.

"It's a start," she reached back and tousled her sweaty hair, felt tears stinging her eyes again. "We'll make it."


	11. Chapter 11

_As always, thanks so much for follows/faves! So...not much action in this chapter, but more is coming! Promise!_

* * *

Liara stared blankly down at the cup in her hands, dark liquid inside it steaming. She'd had one cup already. It was like liquefied cardboard mixed with crushed rocks. Rio had apologized, said their coffee rations were running low for the current supplies, but it would keep her awake. She sat across the table, bleary-eyed as well, with Zaeed next to her. They had told him that only Thirteen had made it back alive and he'd been staring at the table top silently for several minutes. Finally, he clenched a fist. "I'll be damned," he turned his head to Rio. "Guess we used up our luck findin' each other back on Earth. Or maybe you findin' Shepard in the right mess she was."

Rio's red-rimmed eyes met the old mercenary's. "Not true. We had lots of luck getting _off_ of Earth."

Zaeed seemed to think it over. "Wish we coulda' saved some," he said finally. "Damn kids. Deserved a better lot. All of you do. They're gonna' pay. Mark my words."

Liara nodded. "I have no doubt."

Junior came shuffling from one of the halls, a stuffed dog in tow. His sleepy eyes brightened and he ran over, clambering onto Zaeed's lap. "Zeed! Morning!"

"Well," he announced loudly, clearing his throat. "Looks like I'm on Halfling duty this morning," he poked Junior's side and the boy giggled. "You want some coffee?" he grunted.

"Massani, don't you fucking dare," Rio raised an eyebrow.

"Junior," Zaeed tapped his forehead. "That's a big-boy word."

"Mmhm," he nodded and reached for Zaeed's cup.

"Nope," he deftly maneuvered it away from the small fingers.

"Zeed!" Junior protested, crossing his arms.

"Maybe when Rio ain't lookin'," he whispered.

The door to the hall leading back to the building opened.

"Three!" he squealed. He jumped from Zaeed's lap and hit the floor, tiny legs pumping.

Zaeed looked over to Liara. "Thanks…for telling me," he said, rubbing an arm. "Knew it was too good to be true. Guess I owe her seven drinks then," he attempted a smile. "Tough girl."

"Hey," Thirteen knelt down and spread her arms wide, grinning at the child's uncoordinated sprint.

Junior leapt onto her, giggling. "Where Brock and Nine?"

Rio looked over from the table, knuckles turning white around her mug of coffee.

Thirteen pulled back and pushed several strands of nearly white-golden hair from his scrunched-up forehead. "They uh…" she cleared her throat.

Liara could see Shepard's agony through her eyes. She started over.

"See, Bronx…him and Nine and everyone else…they found a really nice place," Thirteen managed, sitting back on her heels. "They uh…they wanted to stay."

Junior's eyebrows shot up. "'Dey di'n't want to see me?"

"No," she shook her head. "They wanted to come back and see you so bad. Especially Bronx. But uh…see, once anyone left the nice place, they couldn't go back for a long time. So I told them I would tell you," she managed to quirk the corners of her mouth upwards and tapped the end of his nose lightly. "They miss you, Junior. They love you so fucking…oh shit. Big-boy word. Don't say that. They love you so much, Junior."

"Can we go see 'dem?" he asked innocently, taking her left hand in both of his, examining it closely.

"Yeah," she whispered, watching his face. He finally patted the back of the hand and smiled up at her. "Someday, we'll go."

"And Ree?" he looked backward, to Rio.

"Of course. How's that sound?"

Junior pursed his lips. "And everyone will be 'dere?"

Thirteen nodded.

He hugged her again, nestling his head under her chin. "'Danks for coming back to tell me…was it pretty?"

"It was beautiful. And guess what?"

"Hm?"

"There wasn't any damn sand."

"Really?" he gasped.

Liara took Shepard's hand as Thirteen scooped Junior up and started toward Zaeed and Rio. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

Shepard pulled her hand away to wrap the arm around her waist. "I told them we should take our chances of going to the Alliance…"

Liara pressed her forehead to the woman's shoulder.

"They told me the best way to keep everyone alive was to stay 'dead'," she murmured. "The hits on all of you were secondary to the concerns about me. If I had suddenly popped up out of nowhere, their main focus would have been the Normandy. You wouldn't have known what hit you," she squinted, trying to stem the inevitable tears. "So…for two years, we've working off old data, second-hand and who-said-what, trying to finish off the rogue Alliance faction or what's left of Cerberus…" two tears dropped to her shirt. "It's bigger than we thought, isn't it?"

The asari wrapped her arms around Shepard's waist. "Yes," she whispered.

"We were trying to figure out ways to get to you guys, too, if we couldn't bring them all down," her voice was close to cracking, Liara could hear the strain. "I just thought with everyone safe…we could finally go to top brass. Hackett. But if we ever…if the Alliance saw them…" she swallowed hard. "I want to believe they'd let them go. But they wouldn't. They're too damn…_scary_ good…at what they do. They'd lock them in more basements, hook more wires into them…"

"Shepard," Liara reached up and stroked her cheek gently. "We can figure this out later."

The woman sniffed and nodded. "Did you guys contact Vega?"

"Later," she answered, pressing her hand to Shepard's chest. "We will figure it out later. You have enough to deal with at the moment."

Shepard sighed heavily and moved so they were face-to-face before dropping her head to her shoulder. "I'm glad you're here."

Liara hugged her tightly. She could feel the sweat soaking through her clothes. "Come on," she whispered. "Let's get you presentable. You have six honorable crew members and fine soldiers to pay your respects to, as well as inform the others."

"Okay," she breathed, letting her lead her toward her room. Rio had shown her earlier where her quarters were. "You didn't call them kids," she mumbled as they were near the end of the hall. Her room was the last door on the right.

"No," she answered, pushing open the door. "They haven't been for a long time. Though they seem to enjoy the sentiment as a term of endearment from time to time."

/

Liara held open an Alliance dress jacket and Shepard shrugged into it. "Where did you get these?" she asked, turning her around.

Shepard smiled. "One of the missions out, Vancouver decided she wanted to use some…_liberated_…credits to get me some old N7 gear…I'm always griping about the hoodie."

The asari watched her fingers nimbly buttoning the garment.

"Of course once she said something to the others, it turned into a full-blown dress blues," Shepard smoothed the front of the jacket and cleared her throat. "For…well, special occasions."

Liara brushed the backs of her fingers along Shepard's cheek.

"Hitched Bronx and Rio in this thing," she said, looking away. "They even managed to get themselves some dress blues by the one-year anniversary of The War. We had our own memorial…we've buried a few friends," she took a deep breath. "It doesn't get easier."

"It shouldn't," Liara kissed her lightly.

/

"It's not Red fucking Sand," Thirteen hissed.

Chakwas crossed her arms and shook her head defiantly. The younger soldiers were all imposing in the uniforms they had donned, hair tied back or combed into strict submission, but this was something she would not bow to. "Your system is brittle enough at the moment," she said quietly. "I'm not those monsters who were running tests on you. I won't let you have any right now."

"I will shockwave you into next fucking week and take them myself."

"No you won't."

Thirteen, her thunder clearly stolen, slumped heavily against a desk. The two were in the office-looking portion of the main hall. "You don't know that," she tried weakly.

"I do."

"You're a fucking pain, Doc."

Chakwas nodded her agreement. "And you're nearly as agreeable on medical advice as a krogan with a bellyache."

"Touche."

"Coffee will have to do for now," the doctor said, pulling up her omni tool. "Liara told me about an incident last night. Something about the conductor connected to your heart. You hit another? And it shocked you?"

"I'm fine," Thirteen pushed her arm away.

"Thirteen," Chakwas said sternly. "I have dealt with a great many soldiers in my time, but you, my dear, are about to take the cake for impossibility with a patient."

"Can you look later?" she pleaded, looking to the others milling around the kitchen, giving weary smiles and quietly mentioning their fallen teammates. "If you look later, then I promise I'll be the model damn patient."

Chakwas sighed, staring at her. The brown eyes were beyond exhausted. "Alright," she finally said, dropping her arm. "I'm going to run full diagnostics on everyone here, too."

"Deal," Thirteen nodded, touching her forehead. She started toward the group but stopped, turning back slightly. "Are you uh…going to come out with us?"

Chakwas put her hand on Thirteen's shoulder. "We owe much to you and your friends. You can expect the Normandy crew to be paying their respects as well."

/

The roof of the building shimmered with heat and sweat almost instantly started crawling down collars and spines. The Normandy crew had dressed in the nicest clothes they'd brought and stood scattered among the stiff uniforms. Zaeed had volunteered to stay in the compound with Junior, mumbling something about not wanting sand in his good eye. "Not that I cry at these things…" he had said.

Shepard, flanked by Thirteen and Lincoln, paced to the front of the group. The three turned with startling precision and clasped their hands behind their backs.

Lincoln cleared his throat. "Today, we honor our friends, our family—our brothers and sisters…our lovers…who have given what we all are prepared to give."

Liara looked at several of the young faces she had recently been introduced to. Faces with smile lines and scars; tough skin from the harsh desert they called home and battles before. It was no stretch to her imagination that they had all put their life on the line for not only Shepard, but the Normandy crew more than once, and would be willing to do so again.

Thirteen quietly stared at five different chains in her hand as Lincoln continued.

"They know no more war and no more pain. Our hearts will ache, and our pillows will know our tears in the days to come. But we stand united. We will always stand united, and through that, they live on."

The crew jumped slightly at the determined, simultaneous bark of the others.

"Vita unitate perferitur!"

Edi felt goose bumps rippling across her skin, something swirling in her chest. A quick scan showed it was an ancient Earth language often called upon for mottos. Latin.

Thirteen stepped forward and started listing off names from the dog tags. One person from the ranks would walk forward, bow slightly, and let her loop the chain around their neck. The second to last chain. "Soldier Nine of Alfa-Two," she turned to Lincoln and he graciously stooped, sweat and tears dropping off his chin. She gripped his huge arm tightly and he smiled before retreating to Shepard's left side again. "Soldier Nine of Delta-One, significant mission Bronx," Thirteen called, throat tight.

Rio walked forward and touched the gold band next to the dog tag lightly before letting Thirteen slip it over her head. She reached out and grabbed the forearm plates lightly before returning to the ranks.

Thirteen stepped back and Shepard blinked another set of tears down her face, cleared her throat. "Engineer Nine of Delta-One."

The girl turned and Shepard laid the chain around her neck.

Lincoln, Shepard, and Thirteen linked hands.

The Normandy crew found their hands being grabbed by the young soldiers and lifted in the air.

"Life goes on, whether we choose to act as heroes or cowards," Shepard said, words carrying through the wavering heat with battle-proven certainty.

"We have chosen our side," Lincoln continued, deep voice roiling and barreling through the air. "It doesn't come without sacrifice or pain. But we stand united!"

"Vita unitate perferitur!" Thirteen shouted.

"Vita unitate perferitur!" the rest roared, shaking their locked hands in the air.

/

"Cake!" Detroit shouted as they started down the stairs, throwing her body against Lincoln. "We fucking love cake! Do you fucking love cake, Lincoln?"

He grinned and nodded.

"Fucking cake!" Rio repeated, throwing her fist in the air. "Bronx and Nine fucking loved cake!"

Thirteen started laughing and threw her arms up. "Fucking cake!"

Jack raised her eyebrows at Shepard as the phrase rippled through the uniforms jostling each other, laughing. "Do they fucking love cake?"

Shepard felt an exhausted giggle escape her mouth. "They really like to shout that word at the top of their lungs after a ceremony."

"Oh," Jack nodded. "In that case…FUCKING CAKE!" she let her biotics spark briefly and suddenly there were blue streaks across the wall, the idea gaining popularity among the other biotics of the group. "These kids are the coolest. Let's keep them all," she said absently to Miranda.

"Fuck yeah!" Lines of white-blue curled up Detroit's arms. "Biotics and cake!"

"Oh dear," Shepard mumbled, putting a hand to her forehead. She glanced over to Liara, who took her arm, grinning. "What did I just start?"

"I have no idea," she answered quietly. Suddenly she turned and let a blue bolt of her own streak to the ceiling. "Cake!" she added to the hoots.

Detroit jumped onto Lincoln's back and pointed forward. "To the fucking cake! Pronto, big guy! Let's beat their asses!"

He smiled widely and took off, Detroit bouncing on his back.

"Oh, no way!" Rio grabbed Thirteen's right arm. "Charge us past those bastards!"

"They…" Shepard rubbed the back of her neck with a free hand as they watched Thirteen pull her arms back, blue flaring up her right arm and across her shoulders before she and Rio charged forward. "Also like to use their powers and class skills to beat each other in races."

Grunt pushed past Shepard and Liara, closely followed by Kasumi, who took an easy leap onto his back.

"Come on, Grunt, let's show them what the Normandy is made of!" she called.

"Hahahaaa! I like these battlemasters!" he whooped. "Caaaaaaake!"

Miranda, Shepard, and Liara were soon the last ones making their way easily back to the living quarters. Even Chakwas had offered a whoop and went running forward.

Miranda turned. "You've got a good group here, Shepard. I'm…I'm sorry. About the others who…"

Shepard nodded and rubbed her eyes. "Me too."

"Have you slept yet?" she asked, taking careful examination of her features.

Shepard opened her mouth to reply when Liara did for her. "No."

"Liara," she wrinkled her nose and looked over.

"I knew you were going to avoid the question."

Miranda stepped aside to let Shepard scan her hand at the first checkpoint. "Then let's set up a game plan."

"Yes!" Shepard pounded her right fist into her left palm as they started into the descending hall. "We need a meeting. I'll need one of you two, Ash, Edi, and Garrus from the crew for sure. Rio and Detroit are tactical geniuses, they should come to the meeting also. Thirteen has important information, and Lincoln always manages to find points we miss. We—"

"Shepard," Miranda put her hand on her shoulder, stopping the babbling flow of words. "The plan, right now, is for you to get some rest."

"We only have the rest of today—which is half over, and tomorrow to figure out what we're—"

"Shepard," the woman repeated, blocking access to the main hall with her body, arms crossed. "Terra Nova days are thirty seven hours long. You need to rest, and so does everyone else here. We have some breathing room."

Shepard's shoulders slumped and she felt the fatigue washing over her. She put a hand against the wall and leaned on it heavily. "I hate when you make sense."

Miranda moved and let her scan her hand. "Yes, I'm sure you do. Liara, could you get her to bed? And I mean _sleeping_," she added, grinning.

"What?" Shepard put a hand on her hip. "Now that's not fair!"

Liara sighed heavily. "She's right."

Shepard took her hand as they started for her room. "Miranda isn't the boss of me!" she said.

/

Liara chuckled, pulling on a clean t-shirt after her shower. Shepard had showered first, flopped on the bed, and promptly fallen asleep in sweatpants and her bra, shirt in her fist. "Miranda isn't the boss of you," she murmured, smiling. "Oh no, you can sleep just fine on your own."

She slid onto the bed and wrapped an arm over her middle, pressed her head onto her shoulder. Shepard shifted slightly, mumbling a string of incoherencies as her arm curled around Liara's form. The asari pressed her lips lightly on her collarbone, her neck, her cheek. Her body burned with desire, and she could feel Shepard's from the moment she'd opened the door to their underground bunker. Desire to continue their kiss, to lose themselves in each other…her eyelids finally dropped.

/

"Admiral Tali'Zora?"

Tali jumped at the boiling low voice and formality. She turned and smiled. Her face plate was off after Seven, an engineer, had told her they triple-filtered their air. "Lincoln, you can just call me Tali, you know."

He nodded and shifted his weight. They had since changed from their dress uniforms and wore normal clothes. His tan long-sleeve stretched tightly across his muscled frame.

"Is everything alright?"

"Grunt said…you have Fleet and Flotilla."

Tali fought to suppress the laugh that bubbled from her gut. "Yes I do. It's one of my favorites."

"Well…" he jabbed his thumb toward a hall and pawed at his damp hair. "Some of us…want to…were wondering if…"

"You could borrow it? Of course!" she pulled up her omni tool. "I could transfer the…" her words faltered to a stop. "You don't have omnis, do you?"

He shook his head.

"I'm sorry. Keelah, I need to remember these things."

A shrug.

"Do you have a screen?"

He nodded. "Some of us were waiting around…for Doctor Chakwas. She's running scans. Grunt's idea for the vid."

Garrus looked over from a card game with Jack, Rio, and Zaeed, Junior perched on his lap and pointing at cards in the man's hands. "You're not going to make them suffer through that vid, are you?"

Edi had taken a seat with Joker next to Samantha one table over. Much to the latter's horror, Detroit flopped down with a third slice of cake. "It wasn't bad!" Edi exclaimed. "I found it very touching."

"Not as touching as Blasto," Joker held up a hand. "Let's face it."

"Well," she ran her fingers lightly over his shoulder. "Not much can beat fast ships and big explosions."

His smile nearly split his face in half as he looked at Detroit and pointed to Edi. "That's why I love her," he whispered loudly.

Lincoln shuffled his feet and Tali's attention snapped back to him. "Yes," she said. "Of course I can come and upload it. Don't listen to Garrus. He's no fun."

"I'm plenty of fun," he protested.

"Fun to whop your ass in cards!" Jack replied, tossing down one from her hand. "Take that, Vakarian."

"Not near as fun," Zaeed grunted, pointing out a card to Junior. "Yep," he whispered to the boy's ear, "now throw it down like you own the joint."

Junior triumphantly tossed the card over Jack's. "Boom!"

"As beating you both," Zaeed finished, leaning back in his seat. "You want a rematch of the famous card slingin' duo Junior and Massani?"

"You're so on," Rio answered, pulling the cards to her chest to start reshuffling.

Tali followed Lincoln into an oversized room with several couches piled high with their new friends. Grunt turned from powering on the screen. "Tali! I told them you had Fleet and Flotilla! Heh heh. They wanted to watch!"

"None of you have seen it?! We will end this injustice today!" she marched resolutely to the screen and keyed in her omni tool.

Lincoln sat down on the same couch as Grunt. Kasumi was effectively squashed between the two. "Oh," he started to get up. "Do you need space?"

"No, no," she motioned him to sit again. "Best seats in the house right here. Couldn't have you miss it. You've been waiting to see this three years."

"Thanks," he rumbled, settling back against the cushions.

/

"Oh no," Joker ran his hand over his face. "Here we go."

"The only thing I love more than cake is chess!" Detroit was practically exploding with excitement. Edi had mentioned the game casually.

Her green eyes sparkled as she looked at Traynor. "Samantha has a board with her."

"No fucking shit," Detroit looked at her, eyes wide. "Here? Like…in the…here?"

"Well, yes," Samantha scratched at the back of her neck, silently cursing Edi with a healthy stare. "Um…I do."

"Want to play?" she asked, pushing the messy bangs from her vision.

Samantha averted her gaze. "I suppose…I could bring it out."

"This is the best day ever!" Detroit reached over and grabbed a fistful of Edi's shirt sleeve. "Chess and cake! Hold on," she sprang up. "I have to get my lucky coin."

"Edi!" Samantha hissed as she sprinted toward a hall. "What are you doing?"

"You made her day by agreeing to play chess," Edi grinned. "Points for you."

"Thanks, but Shepard is running the galactic dating service. Bad enough with her!"

"Do you not find Detroit attractive?" Edi cocked her head to the side. "Because my analysis of your body language suggested otherwise upon your first encounter."

Joker laughed. "You made googely eyes at her within the first ten seconds. Hey, not too bad that you're a little younger than us, huh?"

"Stop it," Samantha could feel her face heating up as she reached down to her bag and brought up the chess kit. "You have no idea if she would even…_why_ am I having this conversation with you?"

"Preemptive relationship counseling," Joker put his hand to his chest. "Doctor Jeff Moreau. Meet my stunning associate Edi."

"I got it!" Detroit called from across the hall, running back over with an easy stride. She flopped back into her chair and clacked it onto the table.

"A real coin?" Samantha's gaze riveted on the metal. "That must be ancient!"

"Right?" Detroit tapped it and smiled. "Found the little shit in a building we blew up ah…what is it now…four years ago," she folded her hands on the table top and looked expectantly between Samantha and the chess kit box.

"Oh," Samantha pulled open the box and set the board down, started separating the black and white pieces. "Which color?"

Detroit shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I'm just fucking excited I'm actually playing!"

"You know," Joker scratched under the brim of his hat, "Sam is a total bad ass at space-chess too."

"Kepesh-Yakshi?" Detroit looked up from examining a dark pawn. "So you're pretty good at strategy games, huh?" she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat.

"Depends on the strategy," Edi offered, grinning.

"I play them a lot," Samantha answered, giving the couple another glare. "Just practiced."

"Well I'm kinda' rusty," Detroit started setting up her pieces. "We're usually out checking ventilation, perimeter turrets, structure integrity, and comm scramblers by now. But since it's all gonna' be useless in a day…" she trailed off. "Hell. May as well enjoy the cake and chess."

"Hey Joker!" Cortez called. "I'm going to make a run back to Normandy, make sure Eezo is alright with the food and…varren box? We left him. Want to come?"

"Yeah," he stood and Edi joined him. "You coming too?"

"Yes, I can check on any potential hover-vent damages by the sand."

"Great," Joker looked back to Samantha. "Have fun you two."

Detroit waved as they started away. "So," she said, picking up her coin. "Heads or tails?"

"Um…heads?"

She flipped the coin into the air, caught it and slapped it onto the back of her hand. "Tails!" she grinned. "And I vote you go first."

"Trying to size up the other player?" Samantha raised an eyebrow. She was in her element now.

"Of course," Detroit answered, grinning. She wiped at her bangs again.

/

"Would you stop squirming?" Chakwas put her hands on her hips.

"Quit poking me," Thirteen said, crossing her arms. She winced.

"I wouldn't have to poke if you'd taken the hardening tape off earlier."

"Well excuse the shit out of me, I didn't get an instruction manual with it, Doc."

Chakwas put her hand to her forehead. "Good God, Thirteen. You are without a doubt, the most impossible soldier I've ever had to treat."

Thirteen grinned. "I like to keep it interesting…so about the—"

"I'm not giving you stims," Chakwas interrupted, pulling up her omni tool. The tape had been left on too long and when the doctor had pulled it off, there were several hollow popping noises. A scan had showed three ribs had popped out of place. "We need to get these back in position," she said, prodding at her back. Aside from the dislocated ribs, the tape had left long, angry welts wrapping around her torso.

Thirteen swatted her hand away. "Don't touch that shit, it hurts."

"If I didn't find you so amusing, I would sedate you for days on end."

"If you keep poking me there, you're going to have to," Thirteen squirmed away from her hand again. She inhaled sharply, hands grappling at her sides, as if trying to reach her back. She doubled over, breath shallow.

"See, now do you want to deal with that, or do you want me to wait until you finally pass out and I fix it in your sleep?"

Thirteen obediently stretched out on the table they had brought into the bare room to make temporary exam quarters. "You're a pain in the ass, but you're my favorite doctor so far," she mumbled.

Chakwas positioned her hands directly over her chest. "Deep breath."

"I can't."

"Deep as you can, dear."

"Okay…"

Chakwas waited for the shaky exhale as she pushed down. Thirteen gave a yelp.

/

"Mmph…" Shepard pulled a free hand over her face. "I don't want to move."

Liara grinned and let her hand wander over her bare torso. They had slept for five hours, and only one thing had been on their mind when they woke up from the long 'nap' with a short burst of energy.

Relearning the other's body with their own; the love they could express through the Union as their bodies moved against each other, hot breath mingling.

Liara was fairly sure she was re-certified with the map of her lover. She kissed her neck lightly, fingers tapping over a new, jagged, lopsided scar near her hip. "I've decided, about the arms," she murmured, taking her hand and tracing a finger along her bicep.

"I'm guessing you approve?"

"Yes," she smiled.

Shepard heaved a sigh, eyelids settling lower. "Maybe I should get up…start planning for the meeting we have to have…"

Liara hugged her tighter, wishing more than anything she didn't have to pull herself out of bed. She saved the galaxy. She shouldn't be holing up in the desert, having to settle scores with splinter factions of the uniform she once trusted whole-heartedly. She looked up once she realized Shepard wasn't going to be getting up. Her face had darkened and Liara reached over, took her hand. "What is it?"

"It gave me a choice."

Liara waited patiently for her to explain. She kissed her hand.

"The…catalyst. The crucible. Whatever the hell it was—some chatty little brat," Shepard narrowed her eyes and looked away. "He's lucky I didn't shoot him in his stupid see-through face…I…" her head lowered, words caught in her throat.

Liara sat up and gently took her chin in one hand, turning her face until their foreheads were touching. "You can show me. If you want."

Shepard bit her lip. "Are you sure?"

Liara nodded.

/

"Shit! It's really happening!" Jack laughed. "Traynor is going down!"

She had plopped down in a seat overlooking the chess game after giving up at beating Garrus at cards, not particularly interested, and not wanting to watch the vid with the others. After Fleet and Flotilla, Tali had suggested another equally as sappy vid that they'd all jumped at. Miranda had wandered over, a datapad in hand, half-watching the game as well, her free hand finding Jack's. Eventually, the white pieces had started disappearing rapidly on the board and they kept hearing "Check," followed by Samantha's frustrated grunt. The two women were now fully absorbed, watching the two chess players.

Rio laughed from the other table. She and Garrus were still going at the card game. "Don't let the vanguard thing fool you! Detroit is a beast at the strategy games!"

"I thought you said you were rusty," Samantha narrowed her eyes. "Were you saying that to lower my guard?"

"I am rusty," she answered, grinning. She moved another piece.

"You failed to mention your rusty is what most consider professionally-honed skills!"

"You didn't ask," she raised an eyebrow.

Miranda giggled. "Admit it, Traynor. You're beat."

"Normandy doesn't admit defeat!" she answered hastily, pulling back her remaining castle to protect her king.

"Neither do we," Detroit said, pushing forward her queen two spaces. "Check mate."

Miranda and Jack burst into giggles as Samantha, slack-jawed, eyed the board, then looked back to Detroit. She leaned back in her seat, smiling, arm thrown easily over the back of her chair. The specialist pulled her eyes back to the board from the sleek lines and curves of the woman across the table. Damn Joker and Edi! The two scheming—

"Two out of three?" Detroit asked. "Now that I'm warmed up, I could probably take you out in three or four moves."

"Oh," Samantha started picking their pieces apart, setting up her side again. "You're on! One condition," she looked up again.

"What's that?"

"You go first."

"Hm," Detroit smiled. "Fair enough."

"Here we go," Jack rubbed her hands together excitedly. "Never thought I'd have fun watching fucking chess."

"We'll make a philosopher out of you yet," Miranda leaned over and grazed her lips against the side of her head then stood.

"Where are you going?" Jack asked. "You don't want to watch this shit go down _again_? I've never seen Traynor lose twice in a row. I'd be willing to put some creds down for this one. On Detroit."

"Ashley and I should probably start preparing for a meeting we're going to have."

Jack stuck out her tongue. "Gross."

"Agreed," she sighed, starting away.

"Well I'll take that bet," Garrus said, striding over. "I don't bet against Sam."

"I do today," Jack snorted. "I like you, Traynor, but this kid is a bad-ass."

Rio put her finger to her chin. "My creds are on Specialist Traynor."

"Traitor!" Detroit whirled and whacked her side playfully.

"She knows how you operate now," Rio shot back. "Big risk moves at the beginning and then you start caging in with small moves," she grinned slightly. "Sacrifice a piece or two to make her think you're careless and then start positioning pieces for three moves ahead."

Samantha shook her head, looking between the two. "I'm glad you're on our side."

"That you are," Rio replied. Her smile was chilling. It reminded the three Normandy crew mates that the younger soldiers were, indeed, calculating and lethal.

"Enough trash talk," Jack waved her hands. "Kick her ass, kid!"

"Sick her, Traynor," Garrus nodded.

Rio sat down and propped her feet on the table as Detroit moved a knight first.

/

"Goddess," Liara murmured as Shepard's memories gently pulled away. She'd stopped as she careened across the ground and slammed into two armored figures.

Liara already knew who they were. What happened in the minutes following.

She blinked and stroked the side of Shepard's face.

"It seemed like the right thing to do," she said quietly. "I couldn't stop thinking about…about Edi. About Legion. I had to give her and the geth a chance," she closed her eyes tightly.

Liara pressed her lips to the woman's forehead. She could feel what Shepard did through the meld, as she jumped into the beam. Incineration. Pulled apart, cell by cell. Startling reality as rocks bit into unprotected skin, dirt pushed into her mouth, smoke bleared her eyes.

"I thought I died…and then…there I was, tangled in a heap of Thirteen and Nine and my birthday suit."

Liara grinned against her forehead before pulling away to examine her features.

"It didn't make sense. It doesn't…I told Nine about it…" the smile that lit her face was sad as she remembered the young woman's pretty face and foul mouth. "She said that maybe it absorbed my energy and then spat me back out…that colonists are too fucking tough to eat up anyway," she laughed slightly. "Thirteen said maybe it had to do with being Commander fucking Shepard and they argued like an old married couple for an hour. Lots of f-words were involved, of course. And then Vancouver got involved. Oh boy. Jack would have died laughing. I think they invented some curses that day. At least they definitely made up some new phrases."

"I could imagine," Liara murmured.

"I guess we should…" Shepard swung her feet over the side of the bed and sighed. "Get some pants on or something."

"Can't save the galaxy without pants, can you?"

"Or a bra," she grinned as Liara hugged her from behind and planted a soft kiss at the base of her neck. "I miss them," she whispered.

"I know," she murmured against her skin. "They will not be forgotten."

/

"Commander Williams?" Miranda rapped politely on the door, slightly ajar, to her room.

Ashley looked up from sitting on the bed, omni tool glowing. The screen looked like a solid wall of text. "Life...through unity," she let the orange disappear.

"Excuse me?"

"That phrase. From the roof. Vita unitate perferitur. That's what it means," she said quietly.

"You've spent the past several hours figuring that out?" Miranda leaned against the doorway.

"Languages considered dead even before CE aren't exactly my forte."

"Well there's something we have in common," she smiled.

"Yeah…" Ashley rubbed at her eyes. "Life through unity, right?"

Miranda nodded slightly. "Not knowing dead languages…I guess it's a start. Hell, next thing you know, we'll actually start to like each other."

"Don't worry, I'll still argue with you every chance I get."

"That's a relief. I was afraid only Jack would keep it up. She's not even all that good at it anymore."

"So what can we argue about?" Ashley stood, eyeing the datapad in her hand.

"I found something on that Kooris Dolman. It's a slim lead but…do we really know any other kind?" Miranda handed it over and Ashley scanned the screen quickly.

"You really want me to answer that?" Ashley raised an eyebrow.

"Not particularly," Miranda knew they had been working off much more for the better part of two years. Solid leads, known variables, information carelessly dropped into their laps. "But I'm sure you'll bring it up when we're planning our next move."

"Damn right I will," she nodded, handing the datapad back. "Good thing you always make an aggravating amount of sense. Maybe we could argue about ways to off the guy."

"Looking forward to it," Miranda turned and started down the hall. "Be ready in half an hour."

"Bossy ex-Cerberus bitch," Ashley muttered.

"I heard that."

"Yeah, you were meant to!"

Miranda turned and offered a smile. "Thank you."

* * *

**And a special mega thanks to Tuiz for help with the Latin!**


	12. Chapter 12

_Hey! Super excited about this chapter, after many words written and deleted and re-thought. Pretty OC heavy this chapter, but don't worry, the Normandy crew will be back soon. Also, I forgot to thank rjohanek for pointing out to me that it's Fleet and Flotilla, not Float and Flotilla...um, not sure what I was thinking. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter :)_

* * *

"She's up and running!" Seven announced, bent over a vid comm port. He shoveled unruly, chestnut hair from his vision and grinned up at Shepard and Edi, light grey eyes twinkling. The three were in a corner of the office space in the main hall. "Just give me a code, Lieutenant, and I'll key it in."

Edi pulled up her omni tool and knelt next to him. "This is the one," she pointed.

"Copy that," his fingers tapped furiously on a holographic keyboard at the base of the port. "Firewall down…encryption up…dummy firewall in place…all spyware suspended. This conversation doesn't exist," he smiled again and stood, threw a salute.

"Thank you, Seven," Shepard nodded.

"I will go wait with the others," Edi said, making her way back toward the kitchen area. The Normandy crew had gathered around a long table with Detroit, Rio, Lincoln, and Thirteen.

"I'll be standing by," he rubbed his wrists and retreated to a nearby desk, plopped down in front of several monitors. "Ready when you are, Shepard."

"Go for it, Sev."

"Aye-aye."

The comm port buzzed to life and a blue cylinder flickered, started rotating. There was a fuzz of static and Seven started typing at his computers.

"James Ve—holy _shit_!" James' mouth dropped open and eyes widened in his hologram. "Holy shit!" He had on a white t-shirt and sweatpants that looked to be a size too big. He hitched them up.

"Vega!" Shepard shouted, throwing her arms wide. She wished she could tackle him. "How the hell are you?!"

"Other than the fact that I think my heart just dropped out my ass?" he ran a hand over his face. "Not too shabby, Lola."

"How does N7 feel?"

"Right," he said, rolling his shoulders. "Then again, I did have someone great to learn under."

Shepard smiled.

"Garrus Vakarian," he nodded, grinning. Shepard rolled her eyes. "Me and that loco son of a bitch took on the Reapers single-handed. Didn't you hear about that?"

"I may have heard something."

"Yeah," Vega shrugged. "We're kind of a big deal. But we've had enough of those bastards to last a few lifetimes. What's up?"

"Ash said you were keeping an ear to the ground for us."

"Don't have much, Lola," he sighed, rubbing a hand across his forehead. "I don't even really know what I'm looking for, other than a mock-up holo of the guy with the scar Liara sent me. I did some digging, though, through a few sealed files. I think…I think some Alliance brass knew about this. Gave them supplies under the table so creds couldn't be tracked. I've got the info ready to send to Liara and Miranda. Big shipments of drugs and surgical supplies and weapons gear to weird, remote locations pre-War. I figured it sounded shady enough."

"So part of the Alliance actually did react to the Reaper threat," Shepard put her fingers to her forehead. "They did it the wrong way."

"I would try to figure out senders and all that, but you've got the brains on your end," he pointed and grinned. "I'm better suited for charging at things with big guns."

"Yeah, wish we had some people to shoot right about now," Shepard folded her arms. "Sneaky bastards. Hate having to hunt them down first."

"The same place keeps popping up, too, the more I look at those files."

Shepard's eyes narrowed. "Let me guess. Noveria."

"Dead on, Commander. I thought we took down some base there during The War?"

"A Cerberus fighter base…we severed their communications."

Vega hesitated. "Do you think…we were cleaning up some of the mess?"

"Hackett gave me that information."

"Yeah, but where did he get that? Someone had to be filtering the most important info to him…Breach?"

"Shepard?" Seven practically squeaked from his seat.

"What?" she looked over.

"Hostile systems are attacking the comm line. Attempting to track back here. You have thirty seconds."

"From where?" she almost moved from the circle projecting her image, but Seven held up a hand.

"Source originating from vid feed connection," his eyes flicked to Vega's figure. "Get out of there, sir."

"What? What's going on?" James looked over his shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"They have someone just as good as me working on this," Seven gushed, brows furrowed low as his fingers flew over the keys. "And the only people as good as me are former synthetics or…"

"Other yous. Black ops," James muttered. "Shit."

"Stay sharp, sir," Seven said. "Terminating the line in ten, Shepard."

"You heard him, James," she said, throwing a salute. "Get in contact whenever you can. We didn't make it this far to be killed now."

"Aye-aye," he returned the salute. "You guys stay safe too, Lola. Vega out."

Seven pressed a button and the comm line flickered dead. He ran his hands over his face, fingers trembling. "It would make sense to put us around crew of yours," he said, peering through the gaps in his digits to the woman. "The first thing we would do would be contact them as soon as you were found. Dammit!" he slammed his fists onto the desk. "We did what they wanted!"

"Then we warn anyone else they could have tabs on."

Shepard jumped at Detroit's voice behind her. "Holy crap. When did you get here?"

"We heard Sev squeaking. I came to investigate," she leaned her hip against the desk. "We warn them."

"Sending encrypted, secure messages to remaining former Normandy crew, Shepard," Seven offered, fingers again jabbing quickly over the keys.

"Your crew have family?" Detroit asked. "Warn them, too."

"Right," Shepard started back to the makeshift conference table. "Good thinking."

Ashley flared after the short announcement. "You mean you put my family in danger?" she looked between the four younger members at the table; the cybernetics, the tough, sunburnt skin.

"Shut up," Jack snapped, already keying in her omni tool to her former students. "We don't have time for your whiny shit, Williams."

"Are you kidding me? We came here to get the winning hand!" she waved to Shepard. "And now we're on the defensive. _Again_."

Rio tapped her fingers lightly along the table's surface. "Strategy, Commander Williams."

"Maybe our first move was a blunder," Detroit put her fists on the table and leaned forward. "But by the time they're ready to play, we're going to be three steps ahead."

Samantha shuddered at the dark blue eyes. They had been light, laughing, smiling during their chess matches. This was a different game entirely.

Detroit's ominous stare leveled with Ashley. "We don't lose."

Samantha had almost managed to stalemate with her the second game.

Almost.

/

Vega turned as he heard the whine of his door telling him the lock was being overridden. _Shit_, he looked frantically around the room. What was he supposed to do with bed sheets and a side-table? He hastily jumped over to his personal terminal, pulling the files into an email and sending them.

The door opened to a young man with thick, curly, brown hair and dark eyes. He stepped in and the door closed behind him. "Now who could that have been?" he tilted his chin up, a sick grin playing across his features.

"Pizza guy?" James shrugged.

"Funny," he circled around the room, eyes never straying from Vega. "You're a funny guy."

"Black ops?" he swallowed, reaching behind him. The stout, hardy metal of his computer would do fine to smash against his head.

"Wouldn't the automatic answer to that be it's classified?" the young man stopped across from him, mirroring the attention pose, hands behind his back.

"Oh, you're funny too," James growled. "What's happening on Noveria?"

"Magic, Lieutenant," his arms slowly folded out from behind him, two glowing omni blades fanning from his wrists. "Fucking magic."

/

The light blinded.

_EDI...oh…EDI, I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud…_

Cut to the core.

_Legion. You shit. I never got an answer for why…you had my armor…_

Burrowed into bones and burned.

_Anderson…is he still proud of me?_

Pushed out, seared away muscle and tendon.

_Kaiden…is this how it felt? I'm sorry…_

Ate away the skin in disintegrating, expanding honeycomb patterns.

_Liara…oh God…Liara…you mean everything to me…_

Quiet.

White quiet.

The serenity exploded in green; rocks and crushed concrete dug into her skin, dirt filled her mouth, smoke slammed up her nose and down her throat, into her lungs. She was tumbling somewhere.

Into something.

Grunts and the sound of shifting armor.

She heard someone shouting. They sounded far away. She could keep her eyes closed…she could…

"Who the hell?"

Someone moved near her.

_You mean everything to me…you always will._

She was coming back.

She mustered the strength and snapped open her eyes, sucking in a deep breath.

Air! Sweet…disgusting, smoke-clogged, death-cooking air. And dirt. Lots of dirt in her mouth. There were two young women leaning over her. _What is up with their eyes?_

"Hey."

The glow of an omni tool. Over their shoulders, she could see a Reaper ship lifting off. Another joined it.

_Reapers gone? I'm dead. These two better be the welcoming committee to show me to the bar._

"You'll be okay, soldier. Class and number?"

"Huh?" she blinked and focused on the blood and muck-spattered face. Black, shaggy hair was hardly held back by a decimated ponytail. She started pulling off her chest plate.

Why was it so cold?

_Holy shit._

"Spec ops?" the other one, a blonde, pulled out an emergency thermal blanket.

_I'm naked._ "No…" _Can't save the galaxy without pants. _"Why are my pants gone?"

"We'll worry about that later," the dark-haired one said. "Name and rank?"

_I don't think they're here to show me to the bar…_her ears finally tuned in the deadly, sharp staccatos of gunfire nearby. She heaved herself up on an elbow, pain lancing through her body. A graceless glob of spit landed on the ground. "I should be dead…" she muttered. "I thought I was dying..."

"Yeah, I have a feeling we'll all be saying that for a long time," the dark-haired soldier gave her a solid thump on the back, which the blonde glared at her for. She winced and started pulling off her armored boots. "What's your name, friend?" She helped her feet into them.

A size too big, but who was she to complain? She was the one who had dropped in stark naked.

"Shepard. Commander Shepard."

The world seemed to blur a little…pain ground up her ribs and echoed in her skull as they pulled her behind a tall, twisted hunk of metal. They exchanged a short conversation, the dark-haired one darted back out into the open.

The blonde gave her a pill. Instead of blurry, the world was fuzzy.

Warm and fuzzy and green and…someone was going to shoot her new, dark-haired friend!

Shepard grabbed the pistol from the blonde's hip and took careful aim. He fell in a heap. Damn, she felt good. What kind of pill was that? She shouted something about pants. The blonde was wrapping something around her middle.

Familiar, quirky phrases.

Colony recruits…three years before…they were young.

Running down a hill…a husk who could talk…

_Some damn good kids_, Shepard thought as she bounced against a shoulder. _We kind of glow. _She shouted something else. _We could just keep walking. They're pretty funny._

"Into the valley of death…"

"Rode the six hundred."

Shepard grinned lopsidedly. "And they kicked some Reaper ass!"

The world dimmed at the edges and went dark.

Shooting. Short automated bursts chorusing together into a ceaseless battering of the air. Yelling. Carnage shots blasting. Something warm on her face.

/

"Shepard! Shepard, wake up!"

She jolted up, blanket clutched tightly in her shaking hands. She was panting. "Oh God…" she flinched at the touch on her arm before she realized who it was. "Liara," she whispered, the blue arms circling around her.

"Where was it this time?" she murmured, lips pressed against her ear.

"I was with them…on Earth. After they found…after I found…after…" she ground her stuttering sentence to a halt as Liara gently ran her hand up and down her arm.

"It's alright, Shepard. I'm here."

"That night…" she took a shuddering breath. "They didn't know about being tracked through their omni chips yet. The others caught up, cut us off. There had been sixty-five at their location. Thirty broke off to help me. Eight more died when they…" she rubbed her eyes. "I didn't even know their names yet."

"They're good people," Liara kissed her temple.

Shepard leaned her head on the asari's shoulder, let the steady rise and fall of her breathing slowly anchor her back to reality. Liara could sense a question.

"What is it?"

Shepard absently entwined their fingers together. "Our plan. It's going to work…because it has before." She brought the hand up and kissed the blue fingers lightly. "Can I show you?" she asked quietly.

Liara shifted so they were looking at each other and cupped a hand over Shepard's cheek. "I want to see anything you will let me. Don't ever be afraid to ask."

The woman nodded. "Alright. Then look."

/

"We keep moving!"

"Fuck…fuck, how did they find us?"

"I don't know. Seven? Any ideas?"

"Just one."

"We need to keep moving, guys."

Shepard had her back to the voices, using a rag wet with dirty water to wipe her face. Her feet dangled from the dock, her battered, dirty reflection in the dingy water looking back at her. Through the reflection, she saw the shaggy dark haired soldier walk over and squat next to her.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, stray gravel on the dock crunching under her boot and metal boot. Foot.

Shepard squinted to the sky, still hazy with war. They had driven off enough of the ambush the night before and taken shelter at a nearby river. A partially ruined water recreation building sat behind them, a marker for where the destruction began in toppled buildings, steel frames jutting into the sky like broken bones of the city. She wiped her face with her hands and sighed heavily. "Honestly?"

"Yeah," Thirteen grinned and sat down, swinging her feet over the edge as well. "I've got my big girl pants on. I can take it."

Shepard smiled and leaned back, hands on the cool metal. It was freeing not having the pressure of keeping the entire galaxy's morale up. "I'm just…" she glanced to the girl's left leg. "I can't believe they did that. There had to be other ways."

Thirteen shrugged. "Yeah. But we are what we are now…" she glanced toward the group arguing over a small fire, boiling water. "Even though the world has no real need for a bunch of Reaper killing machines anymore."

"Don't say that," Shepard nudged her lightly. "I'm sure you guys can kill plenty of other things."

"That we can," Thirteen nodded. "Appetites, moods. Definitely a bunch of fucking mood killers, right in this…general…" she waved her hands in a circular motion. "Area…here."

Shepard laughed and looked back across the river. "So it's over."

Thirteen followed her gaze, sweeping across the ruined landscape. "Damn good work, Shepard," she said, kicking her feet slightly, splashing water forward. "Don't know if you heard that enough out there."

"Thirteen!"

The girl glanced back. "What's up?"

"Crush your omni chip!"

She pulled herself up and started toward the group. Shepard decided to follow.

"Is that how they…" Thirteen struggled with the chip in her wrist and finally yanked it out, tossed it on the rocky ground and crushed it with the heel of her left foot. She stared at the broken pieces. "They found us?"

"Shepard, do you have one?" Seven looked over, blood matting half his head of unruly hair.

"Yeah, I—" she stared blankly as her arm didn't light up in familiar orange. "I uh…" she looked closer at her wrist. No trace of where one had been. "I…did…"

Did the beam of light take it? But she was here. She was alive.

"So you don't now?"

"Hey, twenty fucking questions," Nine snapped, punching his arm. "Give her a shit-spit minute."

"No, it's okay, I…I don't have one I guess," she was still staring at her arm.

"We should move," Bronx shouldered a backpack and picked up his assault rifle. "They'll know we were here. Sorry, Commander," he nodded to her. "Wish we had time to let you adjust."

Shepard rubbed her leg ruefully. Under the cargo pants was now a crude wrap starting just below her knee. Nine said she had broken her shin or something. She could walk…hobble…mostly.

"Who's on Shepard-hauling duty?" Thirteen asked, handing Shepard the pistol from her hip. "Think of it as having an extremely deadly, accurate backpack."

The bear of a man who stayed quiet most of the time nodded. "We've got your back, Commander," he said. Lincoln. They called him Lincoln. He knelt down.

"Strap her on," Thirteen nodded to Nine, taking a few steps away from the group and scanning ahead. "Any ideas, Rio? Detroit?"

Rio and Detroit looked at each other.

"We don't have much time," Seven reminded them, visibly shaken at having his primary method of attack and defense crushed on the ground.

"The bridge," Rio pointed. One still remained intact about a mile down the river. "Open and exposed."

"Thought that was a bad thing," Shepard grunted, her leg finally immobilized against Lincoln's side, her waist strapped against his back. He stood up and she only had to have a hand loosely on his shoulder to keep her balanced. Damn, they were good.

"Exactly," Detroit grinned a borderline maniacal grin. "Who the fuck would do that?"

Vancouver heaved a sigh and untwisted herself from lying on the ground, pushed inky black hair from her vision. "I'm guessing we do, now."

"Yes we do!" Rio looked back to London, who was finishing filling canteens. "Ready?"

London gave her a thumbs up.

It took longer than expected to make their way across the broken landscape and onto the bridge. Halfway down the length, there were two figures slumped against the side.

"Hey!" Thirteen waved her gun. "Friendlies!" she called.

"There is an injury." One of the figures stood, voice deep and mechanical, except the obvious tone of distress.

It was a familiar silhouette and only one…friend…came to Shepard's mind.

Legion.

"Shit!" Thirteen started running, closely followed by Nine and Bronx.

Lincoln attempted to rush forward without bumping Shepard too harshly. They pulled up not long after the first three.

There was a girl…she had to be around the same age as the soldiers. Her left side was split wide open; a feeble attempt at staunching the blood flow with sub-par, civilian-grade gauze was evident through the ripped Alliance shirt.

The geth took her right hand in both of his. "She has not responded for sixty-four minutes now," he said. Was that pain in his voice? He looked up to Shepard, head plates flapping slightly. "Shepard Commander…she is my friend."

He knew her? Of course…the geth had to. After Legion sent himself out, they would know her face.

Nine reached out and pulled the eyelids down over glazed eyes. "What's your name?" she asked, looking at him.

Another ripple of the plates. "Will she be alright?"

Thirteen paced to his side and put a hand on his shoulder.

"She is dead," his hands tightened their hold on the girl's limp hand. "I…I was afraid of this."

"I'm sorry," Nine whispered.

Shepard didn't know what to say. For the first time in a very long time…she didn't know what to say.

"Is this…" he looked between the war-worn faces. "Grief?"

Thirteen squeezed his shoulder lightly as he dipped his head down. "Yeah."

A low, mechanical whine slowly spread into the air, creeping along the scorched concrete of the bridge. It grew into a piercing, whirring, explosion of what had to be every audible sound range the geth could muster. He threw his head back, the noises breaking and restarting several times.

He was crying.

Shepard pressed her forehead down onto Lincoln's shoulder.

The geth was crying.

Was EDI crying? Would it have to be EDI anymore? The letters didn't have to stand for anything now. It could be a normal name. It could be Edi.

Lincoln startled them all in the silence that swallowed the echoes of the haunting cries. "You're not alone."

The geth slowly stood and put his hand to his chest. There was a small, painted Alliance symbol at his left shoulder. "She called me Pete. I will keep this title," he glanced down to the body again. "I like it."

"Pete is a good name," Shepard nodded, attempting a smile.

"She admired you, Shepard Commander," he looked to the commander. "How may I be of assistance?"

"We're trying to get away from some bad…Alliance people," she said, nearly choking on the name. "Do you know of a…place we could hide? Somewhere we could get away? Maybe a working shuttle bay or space port?"

"Acknowledged. Scanning for intact transportation…confirmed. The nearest working hub is Old Chicago National Transport, zone four."

"Holy fucking reaper tits," Nine sighed, running a hand through her hair, scanning the sky behind them. "I'm going to die of hating walking before they ever get their shit-stained hands on me again."

"No, no," Detroit held up a finger. "Are there any military mobile setups nearby?"

"I thought you were running from the Alliance?" Pete looked between Shepard and Detroit.

"Yeah. And I intend to make them pay for killing eight more of us," she answered darkly, hands gripping the edge of the bridge.

"Acknowledged," Pete took a hesitant step toward her. "Scanning…complete. Three miles north," he turned and pointed. "Transmissions to and from the station are encrypted. I cannot break them without triggering an alert."

"It's okay," Shepard said, gaze following the direction of his metallic finger. "Most of them are probably just answering distress calls, figuring out that the Reapers don't want to kill us anymore."

"I will assist," Pete knelt down and put his hand over the girl's heart. "Life goes on, whether we choose to act as heroes or cowards," he said, seemingly unaware of the others around him. "You chose your side well. I will meet you in the place you refer to as beyond space and time."

Lincoln shifted his weight. "That's a good saying."

"She said she received the advice in a fortune cookie," he said, waving them forward. They started moving along the bridge again. "She never accurately explained what they are."

The day wore on lukewarm until the damage started thinning and the large group broke into several groups to stay out of sight. There were groups dancing and celebrating, soldiers sitting soberly, staring at their hands. Reapers milled about, not sure what to do with themselves. Some of the more drunk civilians made their way over, started conversing. After Detroit and Nine had a hushed conversation, Pete and Detroit broke off with Seven and another—Sentinel Six, the group now in five different groups.

Lincoln, Shepard attached, was with Bronx, Thirteen, Nine, and Rio. Nine and Rio moved like the shadows themselves as Thirteen and Bronx clumsily kicked stones and stubbed their boots against unearthed wires and rods, giving various fucks, shits, dammits, and colorful combinations along the way. Lincoln managed to keep Shepard fairly steady, something for which she was eternally grateful. The pain in her leg had started throbbing again. She found herself gritting her teeth.

The sun dipped below the horizon, lighting the sky a fiery orange, red curling through it before dark came.

There were no stars.

They came to an edge of the destruction, a long path with shuttles in rows, dirty, haphazard tents set up with buzzing equipment in them.

Nine was suddenly at Lincoln's side. "Shepard," she whispered. "How's your leg?"

Shepard had her head pressed to Lincoln's shoulder again, not wanting to think about it.

"That fucking great, huh?" she grinned, pulling something from her pouch. "Sorry about no medigel. We'll have to see about getting some old manual application packs," she held up a pill. "Bottoms up."

"Another one of those things?" Shepard gritted, wrinkling her nose.

"Take the damn pill," Nine grinned.

"It tastes like broken dreams and the tears of small children."

"You're a poet. Fuckin' hilarious, Commander." She reached up and shoved the pill in her mouth and swallowed a laugh.

"I try," she answered, trying not the hack the bitter capsule out.

"Alright," Rio said, pulling over. "Detroit is having Pete scan for Harper's signal. Once he finds it, she'll have him flash the light on it. Their group is storming with group three. We are getting the hell outta' Dodge."

"What?" Thirteen jerked her head back. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Just listen," Rio hissed. "They're distracting. We're getting our asses to Chicago with group four. Group five is going to confuse the hell out of them by asking for transport from the next closest military envoy to Vancouver."

"Vancouver?" Lincoln grumbled. "We're going to Chicago."

"They're not actually going to Vancouver," Rio grinned, crossing her arms. "Remember that Pete is official Alliance? Probably not a half bad pilot, considering he's a geth. He's going to be their 'pilot' and confirm capture orders. Poof, gone into thin air."

"Detroit and the others?" Bronx asked.

"Hopefully Seven can disable tracking so we don't have to hoof it all the way to Chicago. They'll pull away, starting north, and once that's done, circle back for us. We charted our course."

Thirteen looked toward the airfield, frowning. "We're splitting up."

"It'll work," Nine said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. The dark hair turned and Nine put the backs of her fingers against her jaw line.

"You don't know that. We didn't even get to say goodbye."

"It'll work," Nine repeated, gripping her shoulders and pulling her close, their foreheads touching. "It'll work because I fucking say. We're done dying for them. We're fighting."

Shepard gripped Lincoln's shoulder again as they started back into the dark. It was the most ridiculous plan she'd heard of.

She had a chance.

_My crew…_ she thought. _I have to find Liara. I have to let her know I'm alive…Joker. And EDI. Edi. She'll be happy to see me. She'll be happy. The emotion. She'll feel it…she'll be happy._

But the pain was too much to deal with and the cold was starting to claw at her face. She buried it once again in Lincoln's sweating shoulder. He had to be tired. Didn't he?

She could ask about her crew in the morning.

There were still so many questions.

/

"Pete," Liara murmured. "You didn't say he is a geth," she smiled.

"Yeah, um," Shepard rubbed the back of her neck. "He's actually _not_ a very good pilot, as it turns out."

"He's not going to wreck and kill them, is he?" Liara's eyebrows jumped up.

"No, of course not," Shepard grinned. "It's just that I might be sending some barf bags with Miranda."

"So what is the Normandy in all of this?" Liara settled back against the headboard.

"Chicago," Shepard frowned. "I think. All I know is that Rio is excited to blow things up."

"And that Grunt is excited to go shopping in Scott tomorrow?" Liara smiled as the woman leaned against her again, slowly dropping off to sleep.

"He says he found something for me on Noveria."

"Other than Thirteen? Yes," Liara let her fingers gently trace the bones in the back of Shepard's hands. "But I won't spoil the surprise," she whispered.

"It'll work," Shepard yawned. "It'll work because…" her eyelids drooped.

"Because you say," Liara leaned down and kissed her lightly.

"And they…"

"Shhh," she cooed, fingers pressing lightly to her lips. "Sleep now, Shepard. You can sleep. We are here."

/

James sat back against the bed, panting, sweat rolling down the sides of his face.

The other man lay sprawled on the floor, eyes wide open and somehow clearer in his death. His shirt flopped sickly in where Vega had cracked his ribs, then pressed his knee against his chest.

He hadn't meant to kill him.

Then, the wet snap.

And his chest had moved.

And he had started breathing in little hiccups. And had apologized. Something about his omni chip and Noveria. And then he died.

James ran his hand over his face, completely confused. He eyed the small chip in his big fingers.

N7 would have to wait.

It was time to go.


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter up! I had a major case of the dreaded writer's fucking block. This chapter is another long one, hopefully to make up for my month-long absence from this piece. Hope you enjoy! As always, thank you so much for faves, follows, and reviews! It means a lot :)_

* * *

Cortez and Joker shuttling them out to more of nowhere in the middle of the damn night.

Of course.

Jump onto a bullet-train en-route from a southern city to Scott.

Sure, why the hell _not_ leap from a shuttle onto the top of a train, both vehicles travelling upward of a hundred miles an hour?

Sneak into the cargo car and skip off before the transport officials caught them at the unloading bay in Scott.

Yes.

It had all gone exactly as planned. An ex-Cerberus officer, Alliance black ops soldier, krogan warrior, master thief, and master biotic had all worked together seamlessly through the cold, midnight hours.

Attempting to keep them focused once at the major space port, however, was a nightmare.

It was as though the brilliantly rebuilt port; with the spiraling, silver columns and green spreads of grass outside the buildings had shattered all attention spans. Like the skycars dotting the blue above them, ships roaring down and docking had instantly turned three of the five into squirmy vorcha children.

Miranda sighed heavily as Grunt grabbed her elbow and dragged her to what seemed like the fifty-millionth store window in the main space port building. Enormous, windowed ceilings poured light into the bustling, wide halls. "Jack! Thirteen!" She called to the tattooed and hooded figure. "Don't you dare try sneaking into the souvenir shop—yes I see you!"

The two looked between each other and their shoulders slumped.

"You're no fun!" Jack shouted from the several store fronts ahead of her.

She turned to Grunt. "What is it this time?"

He jabbed at the glass, grinning widely. "Little explosives!"

"No."

"You didn't even look." he frowned, poking the window again.

She rolled her eyes and glanced in the glass. "Yes, very pretty. Now. Let's keep moving."

"I say they would make an excellent addition to our cargo bay area."

Miranda wished she could swat Kasumi's voice out of her head. But no…they had to have a lookout cloaked in whatever dark corner she was hiding. She pressed her hand to her ear. "Not helping, Goto."

"I know." Her grin was evident through the comm line.

Miranda twisted her arm so she was grabbing Grunt's elbow; started tugging him through the crowds of people. Mostly human, but enough asari and turians to even out the ranks. "I swear! It's like babysittng three large, distracted, impossible children!"

"Isn't it great?" Kasumi chirped. "We don't get out much."

"Yes," Miranda grumbled. "I wonder why."

"Not a clue. We're so well-behaved. We should do this more often."

/

Shepard watched Liara put a hand on Rio's shoulder and stoop to examine her bomb blueprint at the next table over. She smiled as the blue eyes flicked up and met hers for a moment. She finally turned to help Edi with a circuit board at their own table. "How…bad was it?" she asked quietly, eyes riveted on the intricate electronics in front of her. After the Crucible fired…after she thought she was dying…and didn't come back. Two years. Two more long years.

Edi's fingers slowed in connecting a small twist of wires. "I don't know what you are referring to."

Shepard glanced over and raised an eyebrow. "You don't lie very well, you know that?"

"So I have been told."

"Edi," she whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Please. I know you know exactly what I'm talking about."

She sighed and looked up from her work, glancing toward Liara. "It was not…ah…well. Um…"

"Spit it out."

Edi ran a hand through her hair. "It was bad, Shepard," she finally admitted. "It was…bad."

Shepard nodded heavily, gaze falling back to the tabletop. "Do you think I made the right decision?"

"I do not see any other way it could have gone."

"They gave me a choice," she said, poking at a stray wire. "They offered me the chance to go to Hackett…get back to the Normandy…to Liara—to all of you."

"I thought you said they made their case for why you should 'stay dead'."

"They did. And then they gave me the option. If we timed it right, we could have caught the Normandy docked at the Citadel. You guys would have been there, warn everyone about the hits."

Edi leaned back in her seat. "They must have known that would have been the end for them. The Alliance would not…want them…." She stopped, attempting to piece together the bits of possible outcomes in her head. The way she found Thirteen, before she had slowed the infection, managed to seal several wounds spider-webbing from her shoulder-plate…she shook her head, biting her lip. "The Alliance would want them." Yes. That's what she was trying to say. "Want them back."

"Yeah." Shepard searched for something more poetic to say, but could come up with nothing. They saved her life and then offered their own lives without a second thought, and now eight more were dead in bringing her Normandy family back to her; six within three months. She couldn't do them justice with a few words.

She found her gaze wandering back to Liara as Junior came barreling into the hall, giggling, running from Zaeed. The asari scooped him up with a warm, silver laugh. He buried his head in her shoulder with a squeal.

"Where did you find him?" Edi asked, knowing the woman wanted to turn her mind from the series of unfortunate, difficult decisions she'd had to make.

Shepard smiled. "Two days after the Crucible. Bronx heard something in some rubble…you should have seen them tear that stuff away. I'm pretty sure they were all hopped up on stims and Red Sand, but still. And then, under all that dirt and concrete and death, there was this filthy little boy." She laughed. "And he grabbed Bronx so tight that we thought he'd never let go…and Bronx was alright with that." She traced a small circle on the tabletop. "Started calling him Junior. It stuck."

Edi's eyes roved over the young soldiers working diligently in the office space of the main hall, constructing the heart of a bomb. "They have never asked for a thank you, have they?"

The former commander shook her head, then grinned. "But I think they've all laid claim to my firstborn daughter's name. Pretty sure it's going to have to be at least twenty names long."

"With lots of numbers?"

"Maybe we'll just name her Pi and get it out of the way."

"Shepard." They both jumped at Liara's voice, suddenly next to them. She smiled. "Pi? Really?"

"Pie!" Junior exclaimed, tugging gently at one of her head crests. His eyes widened and his hand dropped. "Pretty!" he leaned closer to examine them.

The woman sighed and ran her hands over her face. Without those numbers…she didn't want to think of what could have happened.

Liara, unfazed, raised an eyebrow. "And what are we supposed to do for London or Vancouver or Bronx?"

Shepard blinked several times before standing and hugging her and Junior tightly, feeling the little boy's hand exploring her own hair. Tears blurred her vision as she thought of her dead, younger friends.

"You'll tell their stories, Shepard," Liara whispered. "I told you they will not be forgotten. However…I feel as though you may have to censor some of their language. At least until the girls are older."

/

"Tali." Garrus wagged a finger in her direction. "Don't touch."

Tali crossed her arms huffily. "I will have you know, I am excellent in the area of explosions."

Detroit squinted and looked into the cloudless, hot sky from kneeling in the sand. The sun was relentlessly roasting the three of them setting up trip-wires. Her right hand, holding a palm-sized, metal square, lifted to block some of the glare. "Really? Garrus, why can't she help?" She shifted her gaze to the turian.

"She didn't mention her big kabooms are usually accidents."

Detroit's eyes widened and she looked to Tali, who shrugged.

"Explosions are explosions, right?"

"Mm…nice try. But no." Garrus grabbed a spool of wire and started walking backward.

"There, that's good." Detroit held up a hand and Garrus started tying it around a small, metal spike.

"So…why no proximity charges?" Garrus asked, smashing the spike into the sand. "I'm all for blowing things up, but this seems a little…ah…"

"Old-school?" Detroit grinned, standing and brushing sand from her knees. "Antique?"

Garrus snapped his fingers. "Antique. Yes. A little."

"They'll scan for modern tech." Detroit flipped open the cover of the small metal square to a number pad; started punching in a code. "See, this shit won't show up. They'll think we're firing at them."

"We will be firing at them, though." Garrus scratched his neck.

"It'll seem like a hell of a lot more firing!" Detroit laughed, clicking the cover closed again. "We're only having a few here. They're gonna' think we're a fucking army." Her eyes flicked up from the coding device. "A fucking army, Vakarian."

/

"There it is!" Thirteen grinned up at Miranda as they approached an unassuming store front that read VanRow Music. Several guitars hung in the front glass, and beyond them, rows of records could be seen, as well as more guitars lining the walls. Her right hand pointed and she grabbed Miranda's hand absently with her left, tugging her along a little faster. "You'll like him. He's a stiff when it comes to plans, too."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Miranda tried her best to be indignant, pulling her hand away and crossing her arms, but as soon as Thirteen's crooked smile appeared again from under the hood, brown eyes sparkling, she couldn't help but allow the sides of her own mouth to turn upward.

"Heh heh heh! She got you." Grunt looked over.

"Mmhm. I'll remember that." Miranda's gaze shifted between the girl and the krogan.

"Sometimes I like to think I can make a joke," Thirteen said, squinting and sweeping her gaze across the busy hall. "I crack myself up."

"You're clear so far." Kasumi's voice sounded in Miranda's ear and the woman nodded.

"She says we're good."

The door pushed in with a musical jingle and there was an irate man at the counter, red in the face, mid-argument with the very bored looking turian with bold, red head paint sitting behind the counter.

The turian glanced toward the door and did a quick double-take. He shot out of his chair and both arms flung up—his right missing from the elbow down. He wore a turian-tailored, dark-green t-shirt with a white guitar and the name 'VanRow Music' proudly underneath with a pair of dark pants.

"Spirits! Thirteen!" disregarding the customer, he tore from behind the counter and grabbed her left shoulder firmly with his one hand, beaming down at her. "Seven sent us the news a few days ago. Damn good to see you, kid!"

"Edran!" she laughed, putting both her hands on his forearm and squeezing. "Where's Pete?"

"Yeah? Where is that piece of scrap metal?" The patron crossed his arms. "I'd like to have a word with him."

"I do not wish to speak with you again, Donnelson Jared."

Miranda's head jerked up at a familiar-sounding, almost two-toned, mechanical voice.

"I now have other business to attend to. Please exit my establishment."

The geth that stepped from the back door wore the same t-shirt and a similar pair of dark jeans designed for geth. After the synthesis, the cables under their armor plating acted more like muscles and some preferred to cover them.

"Pete," Thirteen breathed.

His head-plates waved and the two at the side of his face fanned out, twitched up.

_Smiling,_ Miranda thought. _He's smiling._

"Thirteen!"

"And I'm Jared!" the customer threw up his hands. "Pete! Give me some damn reasonable service!"

Pete's head jerked to him. "Perhaps you did not understand my first request. I will put it more plainly. Get the hell out of my shop, bosh'tet fuck wad."

Jack, Thirteen, and Grunt exploded in laughter as Miranda tilted her head. She'd never heard a geth swear so…well…swear at all, actually.

"Should your existence continue within these boundaries, I will not be held responsible for my actions. Should I remind you," Pete continued, taking a step toward the human, now beginning to cower, "that I can integrate with systems and change security footage? I do not wish to deal with you any longer. Leave. Now."

"I like him!" Grunt cheered as the turian flipped the sign on the door to 'closed'. "He's a good one!"

Thirteen made her way over to the geth as the man stumbled from the shop and Edran shut the door. "Pete…I…." she looked down, hands trembling as she reached around her neck. "Detroit said it's yours." She pulled a chain from her neck and held it up. "It was…Vancouver's."

Pete stooped and she looped it over his long head.

"I'm…I'm so—"

"I am so very happy to see you!" Pete suddenly burst, grabbing her in a hug. "So very happy."

Thirteen squeezed his middle tightly.

"I miss Vancouver. But now she and Rowan can wait for me. Together. I believe they will like this very much."

"Yeah. Yeah, they will, Pete."

/

"Shepard." Garrus' face deadpanned at his friend. She crossed her arms, matching his poker face. "Really."

They were outside, watching day rapidly fade to night, temperature already beginning its nosedive as light tinted charcoal and threw long shadows across faces. Chakwas, Edi, Joker, and Traynor were already back to the Normandy, along with most of the young soldiers. Cortez waited patiently at the shuttle door, watching the stare-down. Tali, Garrus, Detroit, Zaeed, and Lincoln were staying to… 'distract' the forces that would inevitably be dropping within a few hours. Zaeed had shown Cortez, with pride, an ancient piece of shit that would serve as their own shuttle to make it back to the Normandy.

"I'm just saying, if you want to have a little extra fire support—" Shepard started.

"Fuck no!" Detroit cut in, adjusting a shoulder plate. "Shepard, you're getting on the shuttle and you're going to fucking like it!"

Rio put her hands over Junior's ears and Liara grinned despite herself. Junior had refused to go before the asari and Rio, and now he sat contentedly in Rio's lap in the shuttle, toying with a lone card from a well-used deck.

"But I—"

Tali held up a hand. "No buts, Shepard. You trust Detroit and Rio, don't you?"

"Yes! I just—"

"Then do what we fucking planned!" Detroit hefted a submachine gun and checked the thermal clip.

Shepard sighed heavily.

"And don't you fucking sigh at me, bosh'tits." She jabbed a finger in her direction and Tali cocked her head to one side.

"What? That's actually an incorrect—"

"She knows." Zaeed laughed, his gravelly voice bouncing across the sand with his certain array of hardly-pronounced consonants. "She's got a point, Shepard. You told them to come up with the plan because that's what they do."

Shepard finally relented and jumped into the shuttle, glancing back to Detroit and Lincoln. She didn't know it'd be so hard. Just like it was watching Thirteen climb heavily onto the shuttle the night before.

Just giving them an easy slip.

_Easy slip. Huh. I'm glad we never have to do anything complicated_, Shepard thought. _How did Jack do this during The War? Dammit. They're full-blown soldiers and I'm worrying like some fussy salarian who can't figure out a math problem._

"We're coming back," Garrus said, putting a hand on both Detroit's and Lincoln's shoulders. "All of us. I promise."

"Bosh'tits!" Tali threw her hands up. "I don't know how Jack hasn't thought of that one before! It's brilliant! We have to tell her when we're all back on the ship!"

Shepard threw a last glance across the horizon before her. As harsh and unforgiving as the desert had been, it had been home for the better part of nearly two years. A light touch on the small of her back made her turn.

"It's time to go," Liara murmured, sliding her arm around the woman's waist. "The Normandy is waiting."

Shepard returned the gesture, still looking to the small group staying behind. She bit her lip. "You're coming back," she repeated her friend's words, as if trying to convince herself.

Detroit pounded her fist against the side of the shuttle, signaling Cortez. "Always do, Shepard."

_No you don't_, Shepard thought. She knew Liara could practically read what she was thinking on her face. _Six of us didn't this last time. They're gone... _She turned and buried her head in the asari's shoulder after the door closed. The floor lurched up as Liara hugged the former commander tightly, breathing in the scent of generic soap that clung to her skin after using nothing but for two years.

"It will be alright," she whispered, casting a glance toward Rio.

She offered a small smile, running her fingers lightly through Junior's hair.

"That's what the others said. Before they ran off to Noveria," Shepard muttered, squeezing her eyes shut.

"We're done dying," Rio said adamantly, her thin, graceful fingers clasping around Junior's hands as he giggled at the card. Her eyes flicked up, cold and pained, but determined. "You know Nine always said that. And you know what Vancouver said too."

Shepard looked up, toward the external camera windows as they flickered to life. "We're done dying. It's their turn."

/

The shuttle door closed and the five on the ground team watched it hover up, begin zooming away.

Lincoln turned and squinted in the opposite direction. "Which way?" he rumbled.

Detroit sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Probably from the supply train direction. Closest thing to us that's any kind of landmark."

"Ready to make some of these bastards pay?" Zaeed patted at the assault rifle on his back affectionately. "Because I am."

Lincoln flexed his hands, gaze not turning from the smoky blue remains of the sunset. "We never can turn down a good fight, can we?"

Detroit laughed and leaned easily against the building. "Don't shit yourself, Lincoln. Some of you were ready to put it all down. You, Bronx…especially Coover after that resistance base during The War…" her words trailed off and she shook her head.

"Her and Rowan. They deserved more," Lincoln mumbled.

"Not much longer, now," Tali said, pacing over and putting a hand lightly on his armored bicep. "We're going to end this."

Detroit's deep blue eyes glittered as they flicked to the quarian's darkened face plate. "And then what? I only know how to kill things. It's what we were…designed for."

"We've learned," Lincoln shot back, his enormous, bulky frame even more imposing in a suit of blood-red armor. "We've learned more and you know it."

"Like what?" Detroit pushed off the building. "Fixing ancient pipes, how to live off the grid, how not to murder each other when we're pissed off?"

"I'd say that last one is pretty handy," Garrus offered, shrugging.

Lincoln nodded solemnly. "Learned peace, and good things to fight for instead of being brainless killing machines. How to love again. And you know it. It's why you're here and not still with them." He waved a hand toward the sky. "You knew this stuff before the flash. We aren't beyond…" he seemed to struggle for the right word. "You know…uh…."

Detroit bit back a laugh, but not before the first half escaped her lips. She nudged Zaeed on her way to the abandoned complex's broken front door. "We're so fucking precious."

Lincoln sighed, looking down to Tali. "She's still…getting the hang of it," he said, beginning to follow her in. "Detroit, wait up."

Zaeed sighed heavily, rubbing his hand over his short, grey hair. "Tough bastards," he said to neither the turian or quarian in particular once the two had gone into the building. He looked as though he was going to add more, but stopped, shrugging.

Garrus' mandibles twitched slightly. "I'm sensing a story in there somewhere, Massani."

"Not mine to tell, mate. They've got loads of 'em. Make your spikey head spin. Let's focus on gettin' out of here in one piece first, though. Plenty of time to talk on the Normandy. But you may have to get them more than a little drunk to spill a lot of it."

/

"Knives?" Miranda raised an eyebrow to Thirteen in the weapon's shop. Pete and the turian, Edran, had gone to secure a shuttle a few hours before, and she had finally been able to corral Jack, Grunt, and Thirteen together in a weapons shop. The girl looked up and nodded.

"Vanguards had them standard issue." Thirteen poked at the glass case. "Strapped them on our thighs in case we needed them for close-range kills. Guess it's why…" she stopped, eyes traveling to her left arm.

Miranda squeezed the forearm gently, nodding. "Right."

"Anyway, we should get a couple. You know, for when I'm uh…showing you…how I fight," Thirteen continued, looking away.

"No shit?" Jack was suddenly at their sides, holding a case for a pistol silencer in one hand and a corndog in the other.

"We had a deal." Miranda grinned and attempted to ruffle Thirteen's hair under her hood. "Reading for fighting."

"I've gotten this far without reading," Thirteen mumbled. "Well, Nine told me what our tags say. But other than that, I've been just fine."

"Hey, Lawson." Kasumi's voice jolted Miranda as it cackled to life in her ear. "I've got a few shady guys outside the shop. Looks like they've identified Grunt. Oh, by the way, I think he's buying more mods for his shotgun. Do you think you could pick me up a little something too? I hate missing out on all the fun upgrades."

"Any word on the shuttle?"

"ETA around fifteen minutes."

The dark-haired woman turned toward the front of the shop, scanning over the racks and rows of weapons and mods to the front glass panes. The broad hall was now bathed in artificial light, obscuring twinkling stars from the overhead windows. "How much time do you think we have?"

There was a long silence from the thief.

"Kasumi?"

"My omni-tool just picked up a message they sent."

"Dammit," she murmured, turning in time to see Jack handing the cashier a credit chit, two large knives on the counter. "They're moving a little faster than we anticipated."

"Not to be the rain on the parade, but you should probably get moving. That shop isn't any place for an ambush."

Miranda grinned. "But is it really an ambush if we're expecting it?"

"Ooh, good point. I like it. There it is! Pete just sent me the nav-point for the shuttle. Sending it to you guys now."

"You go, make sure that bay isn't housing any sneaky bastards. We'll catch up."

"Copy that. Hey…"

"What?"

"Be careful, alright? We are bait, after all."

Miranda caught sight of something twitch in the shadows beyond the shop windows. Almost imperceptible, as if the air had simply hiccupped for a brief moment. She smiled. "So you do care."

"Yes, well, nobody else likes to take us out on the town. Oh…and about that mod?"

"Jack's got you covered," Miranda said, looking over at the case in the tattooed hand.

"Wonderful! Meet you at the bay."

Miranda nudged Jack, starting toward Grunt, who was leaning over a complimentary weapons bench. "Time to go," she whispered.

"Show time! Alright!" Jack laughed and handed Thirteen the two knives. She didn't know how to use them. "Ready to kick some ass, Thirteen?"

Thirteen strapped a sheath on either thigh, then pulled up her left hand, cybernetics making a tight fist. Her eyes flicked toward the door. "Unfortunately for them…they built me ready."

/

Detroit gave a whoop, squinting at the dark horizon. "That shuttle space-worthy yet?" She called over her shoulder. They stood outside, the underground living quarters raised as a large dune to their right. They'd powered on the floodlights at the top of the main building and the white glow managed to reach them, even being several hundred feet away.

The vehicle in question looked like a giant hunk of rust and sand-coated rust. The seats in it had been torn out and wires were taped against the walls from holes in the interior.

Zaeed poked his head out from the cockpit area as Garrus scrambled out, hastily arming his sniper. "It'll be a few minutes!" Zaeed shouted.

"This is worse than some ships we had in the Flotilla!" Tali added, voice muffled from being under the pilot console.

Lincoln's head turned up as the turrets on the roof buzzed to life and started the sharp, rapid, automated beat of bullets toward an incoming formation of fighter shuttles. He slid his own rifle into his arms, watching them break formation, attempting to outmaneuver the defenses.

Detroit knelt down to a bulky transmission hub; a silver case flipped open to reveal a host of numbers to the left of the screen, with strange abbreviations on the right. The bottom half housed thick, metal keys of a numerical keypad with a button to the right. Her finger traced down the screen and landed at a number. She looked back up and grinned, typing it into the system with heavy clacks. "Boom, bitch."

Her hand slapped the button.

There were two fizzes from the top of the building and they watched the smoky trails streak toward the closest shuttle. It pulled up abruptly and the rockets went speeding past.

"Shit," Lincoln mumbled.

"Not yet," Detroit said, rubbing her chin in excitement.

An explosion rocked through the air and fire burst with the sound of screeching metal, combusting inertia dampeners. A shuttle further back had caught them.

"Nice shot!" Garrus laughed, hoisting his gun onto his shoulder. They wouldn't be using them until they hit the ground. Hopefully not until the hunk of junk behind them could fly. "Hey," he called back, "not to be pushy, but I'm pretty sure they're about to start landing once they finish off those turrets!"

"Shut up, Garrus!" Tali's voice came bouncing back. "_You_ try and fix this while under fire!"

"We aren't under fire yet. The building is under fire!"

"I'm going to fire you!"

"Yeah?" Zaeed's gruff voice interjected. "Well I'll fire you both myself if you don't shut it!"

Detroit sent out two more rockets, taking down a far flank of the shuttles. Return fire peppered the building, raining stray chips of concrete toward them. Sand spouted up around the perimeter with dull thuds of the large rounds. "First shuttle is landing!" she shouted, standing and pulling up a pistol in one hand, the small metal number pad in the other. "Hurry it the fuck up!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Tali's voice was indignant. "Unless you want to blow up in the stratosphere, then we aren't quite done!"

Garrus pulled up his rifle and sighted down the scope, taking a deep breath. Several soldiers piled out in heavy armor. He squeezed the trigger and watched the first tumble backward.

Zaeed jumped from the shuttle, his gun in his arms already. "Lincoln, let's remind these bastards why we're still here, shall we?" he started limping forward.

Lincoln hefted his own weapon and started steadily forward, feet sure in the unsteady sand, sending out short, controlled bursts.

"Well, I'll be damned." Garrus chuckled, watching ranks beginning to scatter and rush forward as more bullets started flying through the air. "Massani hasn't lost his touch."

Detroit's pistol trembled in her hand. "Fuck it!" she shouted, tossing it away and biting the number pad between her teeth, pulling up her assault rifle. She rushed forward, an angry barrage spraying from her gun.

Sand flung into his face as a bullet zinged into the ground a few feet away from him. "Tali?"

"Almost there!"

"Good, because I do believe some of them have seen us over here."

"It's not surprising, judging from the amount of fire I heard just start up."

The turian watched Detroit stop suddenly and pull out the number pad, gun tucked awkwardly away in her arms.

Fire and sand boomed upward near the building, away from them. Shouts from the hostiles were growing steadily closer.

A rattling, choking, mechanical sound started behind him and he turned around to watch it heave off the ground.

"There!" Tali shouted. "Get in and let's save the day, shall we?"

Garrus grabbed the metal case and took a running leap into the shuttle. He grinned as Tali turned from the pilot seat. "We seem to like that sort of thing." He braced himself against the side as it climbed further in the air and jolted forward toward the other three. He swung the barrel of his sniper out the opened door in time to see another explosion light off near the building, sending one man up in flames and another three bowling backward.

/

Miranda resisted the urge to check over her shoulder, back toward Grunt and Thirteen. She could feel eyes on them, none too kind. She glanced to her omni-tool again. Just another hall and then an open shuttle bay outside the building. Good. The station had grown less busy after the sun had set, but she didn't want innocent civilians caught in crossfire. "We're almost there," she said to Jack, who was at her side.

"It's been pretty quiet so far," she murmured, shifting the case in her hands.

"Perhaps a nice change from our last trip out?" Miranda grinned.

"Hmm…changing amps before Thirteen went critical?" Jack laughed. "Nah. We always do the best stuff."

"Well I certainly do."

Jack jerked her head at the obvious innuendo lacing her words, a surprised smile lighting her face. "Oh-ho. That was dirty."

"I have to keep you on your toes somehow, don't I?" Miranda finally looked over and reached up, trailed her fingers lightly along her jaw-line.

"I admit. You manage pretty fucking well sometimes."

"Good to know I still have a few surprises."

They finally rounded the corner and pushed open a door to the outdoor bay. The night was warm, stars only barely visible, fighting for space in the sky against the brilliant lights of the capital city. That particular tarmac was a large square with two other parked shuttles, the occupants already gone.

Thirteen squinted into the sky. "Where is he?"

Kasumi was suddenly visible at Grunt's side, eyes glittering under her hood. "Another five minutes, I believe. So we get to have some fun."

"Yeah!" Grunt laughed and slammed a fist into his other thick hand. "Heh heh! That's what I've wanted to hear!"

Thirteen pulled the knife from her thigh with her right hand and gripped it in her fist, blade sticking out to the side.

Miranda looked over as her forearm blade slid out. A little shiver ran down her spine.

"Alright!" Jack called, tossing the silver case to the ground. Blue flashed at her fists as she looked around. "Come and get us, fuckers! We know you're there!"

The five of them whipped toward shuffling from behind the two shuttles. Several men in heavy, black armor leveled guns toward them.

"Surrender and we won't hurt you!" one called.

Thirteen took several lazy steps past Miranda and Jack to be in the front of the group. "Actually, I have a better idea."

"You have five seconds!"

"Anyone who doesn't want to die," she said casually, inspecting the long blade jutting from her left arm, "leaves now."

Miranda put a hand on her hip. "Sounds like you're the ones with five seconds."

"Lawson and the brute! The others are expendable!"

Jack sent a powerful shockwave forward, bowling them all over. She straightened, pulling out her concealed pistol. "Guess they didn't like your offer, Thirteen!"

Thirteen planted her left leg, arms drawing back as blue snaked up her arm and around her shoulders; up her right leg. Her hood fell back. "How unfortunate."

She charged forward in a streak of white-blue, smashing into one of the men. He slammed backward into a shuttle and slumped to the ground, unmoving.

"Hahahaaa!" Grunt's feet slapped the pavement heavily as he threw himself headlong into the confused fray.

"Fly, bitch!" Jack laughed, one of the men flying upward in a field of biotics, her hand twitching and spiraling him away.

Miranda swung her own concealed weapon up and started forward, firing in concentrated, deadly accuracy. "Night night!" she called as her free hand shot out and a man lifted high in the air and let loose a panicked scream as he dropped.

It was hardly a fight. They hadn't brought enough people for the efficient team of five.

Kasumi tucked her gun away easily as Thirteen wiped her arm blade clean, frowning at her blood-spattered clothes. "You know, maybe there is a down side to fighting up close like that."

"What?" Thirteen looked up from avidly swiping at the stains, working only to smudge them further.

"You're a fucking mess," Jack offered.

Thirteen shrugged off the jacket. "Yeah," she mumbled. "Maybe I should wash this before I give it back to Steve."

The four from the Normandy snapped their heads toward the sound of clunking boots, guns being readied.

"Where's the soldier we're looking for?" one of the men shouted.

"I see Lawson!"

"Where the fuck is the brute?!"

Jack raised an eyebrow to Kasumi. "Have you seen a brute anywhere?"

She sighed, examining the back of her hand. "Not recently, no. I miss their cuddly faces."

"Me."

They turned at Thirteen's dark, gravelly voice. She turned slowly, her left arm reflecting and bending the lights of the city into faint, sharp, glinting fractals at her side. Her hair fell across the right side of her face, her head bowed, as the blade slowly slid out.

She flicked her eyes up. "I'm the brute, aren't I?"

"That's the one!"

Her face contorted into a dangerous, sneering smile. "Come and get me."

"Move, move, move! What the hell are you waiting for?! Open fire!"

"But sir! Lawson!"

"Then get her ass and kill the others! Let's…unghh."

Kasumi pulled her omni blade from his back. "I'm not sure I quite liked the tone he was taking with us."

"Who the fuck is this little shit?"

"Where the hell did she go?!"

Gunfire rattled the air, harmonizing with the panicking voices of the men against the five experienced fighters. A shuttle bucked into view.

"Hey! That's our ride!" Jack kicked high, her boot connecting with the chin of a man. His teeth clacked together and he fell backward. Clean knockout.

"I'm having fun!" Grunt protested, looking over from his claw clamped firmly on the collar-piece of a man's armor suit.

"You're going to get on that shuttle, Grunt," Miranda called, "or so help me, you will _never_ see another firework show again as long as we both shall live!"

"But! But!"

"No buts!"

Grunt shoved the man roughly backward, successfully knocking over another two with his momentum. "Fine!"

"Is that what it was called?!"

Their ears tuned in to Thirteen's hoarse shout. She was kneeling over a man, her new knife at his throat, her knees pinning his arms to his sides, her left arm poised an inch from his eye.

"Is that what it's fucking called!?"

"Shit! Yes, you crazy bitch! The Brute Initiative!"

The shuttle hovered closer and Edran leaned out the open side door, waving his nub, his left hand clinging tightly to a bar. "All aboard! Let's get this shit on the road!"

"Quick! Lawson! We need her!"

"Move! Move! Get the brute! She's distracted!"

Miranda poked her head over Grunt's shoulder as he somehow managed to barricade in front of her, hastily shoving her toward the shuttle.

Thirteen whirled around, left arm slinging out, blade catching the first man who would have been on her in the gut. Red splattered through the air as she stumbled up and off the man on the ground.

"Hey!" Jack shouted, helping Kasumi into the shuttle with a biotic pull upward. "Thirteen! We are _leaving_!"

Miranda grabbed Jack's hand and their biotics flared together, encasing both them and Grunt, hefting them to the open door.

"Thirteen!" Edran roared. "Get your ass over here, you shit-head!"

Thirteen seemed to ignore their shouts, flashes of silver and blue still flying through the dozens of men. "They know something!"

"That they're about to get you!"

"Fuck this!" Jack finally stretched out her arms, face frowning in concentration. Thirteen was hauled above their heads, fighting madly against the blue curling around her body.

"Fuck! Let me go! Mother fucking fucker! Let go!" She shouted.

"Shut the fuck up!" Jack retorted, feeling energy push back against her. Thirteen was fighting the field. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Jack?" Miranda watched sweat beginning to bead at her temples.

"Dammit, kid! Stop fighting!"

"They have answers!" Thirteen continued screaming. She finally landed with a heavy thud in the shuttle and it jolted up, the door slamming shut. "What the fuck?!" She scrambled up and attempted an enraged swing at Jack, who easily sidestepped it. Her fist clanged into the shuttle wall and the knife clattered to the floor. She stopped, eyes locking on the knife, realization finally dawning on her features. She slowly started backing up, hands beginning to tremble. "I'm…I…"

"Hold on!" Edran interrupted, beginning to strap himself in. "Pete's a shitty driver!"

"I heard that." The mechanical voice floated back from the cockpit.

"Yeah, you were meant to!"

"Woo! Bumpy rides are the best!" Grunt threw his claws up.

Edran looked down to Kasumi, belting in next to him. "He always like that?"

"Hm? Oh, Grunt? Sometimes he sings."

"Krogan singing? Spirits!" Edran laughed. "Never had the pleasure before!"

"Hardly a pleasure," Miranda said. "But I'm sure you'll hear it before we make it back to the Nor—"

The shuttle twisted and the four not belted down went tumbling against the wall.

"Heh heh! I want Joker to fly like—"

Another shuddering jolt, sending them to the back.

"Fuck!" Jack grunted, landing heavily against the krogan's chest plate.

"Oh shit," Thirteen gasped, right hand grappling at her ribs. Bright red covered the bridge of her nose, crept across to her cheek. "Oh shit!"

Miranda glanced over, rubbing at the base of her skull, the young soldier pulling her metal arm from behind her head. That's what she'd hit. "Thirteen?"

She took another sharp breath. "Oh…fuck! My…damn…stupid…."

"Strap in!" Jack pushed off Grunt, grabbing Miranda's arm.

"Shit!" Thirteen lunged forward, fingers closing around her knife's handle. She spun and jammed it into its sheath at her leg.

Jack and Miranda sat down heavily in a pair of seats.

"Is everyone adequately secured? I have detected another shuttle in pursuit."

Jack abandoned wrestling with her belt, jumping to Thirteen's side. "Not ye—"

"Go!" Thirteen managed to grit out.

"Acknowledged. Beginning ascent to upper atmosphere."

Grunt's hands shot out and grabbed a balance rail above their heads.

"What the—" Jack didn't get a chance to finish. Thirteen rolled over, left arm grabbing Jack and pinning her to the floor.

"We're getting the hell outta' Dodge," she wheezed. "Head down, soldier!"

"Jack!" Miranda shouted, the floor bucking down. The two bumped into the air, started slamming toward the back wall. Jack's flailing limbs seemed to move in slow motion, her face that of surprise. Thirteen twisted in the air, her body taking on a familiar stance.

She watched a sudden zap of blue surge from Thirteen and push against Jack's back, slowing her violent jolt toward the back wall. Thirteen hit with a clang and crumpled to the floor. Jack's breath escaped her mouth in a quick whoosh as her body crashed next to Thirteen a second later. She struggled against the breathlessness as Grunt hauled Thirteen up with one arm and pushed her into a seat with the other.

"When the fuck are those inertia dampeners going to kick in?!" Jack shouted, clicking on her belt before reaching over to help Grunt's clumsy fingers with Thirteen's. Her head bobbed limply, dripping blood from her face.

"We must get up to speed first. Approximately three minutes remaining."

"Shit!" Edran's eyes were wide. "Is she alright?"

Jack put two fingers to her neck until she felt the pulse. Rapid, but strong. "She's good."

"Must have bonked her head pretty good," Edran breathed, putting his head back. "Spirits! That little shit gives you too many heart attacks to count."

"Yeah," Jack panted, leaning her head back against the hard head-rest. Miranda reached over and took her hand.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm good. You?"

Miranda grinned ruefully, rubbing the back of her head again. "Nothing Chakwas can't fix."

"Aw, my poor cheerleader." Jack finally pulled in a full breath. "Want me to kiss it and make it better?"

"Do I get to choose where you plant it?"

Jack let out a loud laugh and pressed her lips to the back of Miranda's hand. "Sure, but these damn belts are in the way right now."

"I guess we'll have to work on it later, then."

Edran raised a turian eyebrow. "Uh…" he turned to Kasumi.

"Mm, you get used to it." She shrugged, grinning.

The shuttle yanked to the side again, tossing Grunt to the floor.

"Heh heh heh! This is better than explosives!" He staggered up and pounded his chest. "Again! Let's go!"

"Ever get the feeling that everyone's fucking crazy?" Jack grinned lopsidedly, rubbing her thumb gently over Miranda's hand.

"Every single day. It helps me keep up the illusion that I'm actually sane."

"Shit!" Kasumi suddenly exclaimed.

Edran glanced over. "You okay?"

"We left my pistol mod. Dammit."

/

"Where's Detroit?" Lincoln panted after Garrus helped haul him into the shuttle. Zaeed rubbed at his leg.

"I was hoping you'd know," Garrus said, looking back out the door. Gunfire chorused with different explosions. She'd been right. It seemed like a small army against them instead of their tiny ground team.

"Detroit!" Lincoln shouted, leaning outside. "Detroit!"

A blue bolt streaked toward them and Detroit was there, glancing over her shoulder. "Ready to blow this shit?!" she called up.

"Get us back down there, Tali!" Garrus flopped to the floor, dangling an arm down. "How are your legs?"

"Oh please!" she laughed, beginning to hop and flail. "I'm fucking awful!"

"Just a little further, Tali!"

Detroit took another hop and latched onto his arm, feet swinging in the air as the shuttle pulled up again. The tell-tale zip of a bullet clanged against the shuttle before another and a soft thump. She let out a strangled cry. "Mother fucking hell!" her right arm dropped from Garrus' arm and Lincoln scrambled to the floor to help haul her up. "Shit! Shit, shit, shit!"

They hauled her into the shuttle in a graceless pile. She grabbed the tin briefcase, started clacking in numbers furiously.

"She's in!" Garrus stumbled to the cockpit.

"The door isn't shutting!" Tali's fingers were flying over controls.

"Got it." Lincoln reached up and closed his fists around a bottom rod of the door. His face turned red as he started pulling it down.

"Check mate, mother fuckers." Detroit grinned, pushing the button on the crude console.

The explosion rocked the shuttle, tossing them against the back wall as metal and concrete rained through the air, bits of the living complex flaming as they dropped in the sky.

Lincoln jumped back as the door finally caught and slammed shut. He let a grin creep over his face. "Not bad," he wheezed, looking back to Detroit.

"Not bad at all!" Garrus smiled.

Detroit stumbled up, left hand pressed just underneath the upper left of her chest plate. "Shit."

"Hey." Zaeed stepped forward to steady her. "What's wrong?"

She pulled her fingers away, blood coating her hand. "Bastards."

/

Liara started at the knock on her door. _And Shepard's_, she reminded herself, reaching over and running her hand lightly over the woman's arm. She slid out of bed and pulled on a robe, glancing to make sure Shepard was decently covered by the blankets.

She opened the door and blinked as the brighter lights of the hall spilled in. Edi was framed against the brightness.

"Edi?"

"I checked the personal account you and Miranda set up for the Broker network, as you asked. The one for our friends to send information."

Liara suppressed a yawn and stepped into the hall, closing the door quietly behind her. "Did something important come in?"

Edi pulled up her omni-tool, her face darkening. "There is one from James."

"Is he alright?"

"I do not know. But the information he sent…it is about what happened on Noveria."


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: So, this chapter does get pretty angsty. But after three re-writes, I liked this one and I figured...hey. Why the fuck not? Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

"Ay dios mio!" James resisted the urge to completely shoulder the two other men pressed to his sides onto the laps of the people sitting in the over-crowded public-transport train. It was hot, and he was sure he was getting a few sideways glances from the hooded sweatshirt he wore, a gift-shop hat jammed on his head under the flipped-up hood, heavy black bag slung over his shoulder. He'd been on the train for nearly three hours—the past two standing as more people crowded on at the after-work rush hour.

"Hey, you got a problem?" The guy on his right, in a black suit and tightly-knotted tie, looked up at him. James saw the flicker of uncertainty pass his features as he realized just how big he was.

"Nope. You?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No."

"Looks like we're friends, then." James' gaze turned to the windows. Dark circles had started under his eyes. Sneaking off the base hadn't been easy. And then he had to navigate through the dense forest outside the compounds for two days without his omni-tool. He'd crushed his chip at the edge of the base and bought a cheap one at the closest transport station. Along with his hat.

He could still feel the harsh thwack of needles swatting against his unprotected arms and the sharp pricks as he'd bunk down on the ground. They itched now.

There was a soft 'bing' overhead and the train's driver came over the intercom. "Approaching station four of Illyria. Travel one level up for additional public transport."

James rolled his shoulders. He could make it to the space port from this stop. He was hundreds of miles away from the training base now. He muscled his way through the crowd to the door, feeling sweat beginning to roll down the back of his neck. "Shepard owes me a drink for this shit," he muttered. He couldn't smell good after two nights of makeshift camping.

"What?" A small woman at his side looked up.

"Huh? Oh. Uh…nothing." He turned his head away, pulling the hood up farther.

The doors swooshed open and a cool, underground breeze rushed past his face, wiping away the stale, hot air he'd been breathing the past half hour. He took a thankful deep breath and stretched his arms high above his head, starting toward the stairs at the far end of the station. He'd thought navigating through Elysium would have been a little harder. But after The War, tensions between races had relaxed more. _No shit. Only took half of everyone's home world to put our stupid piss matches behind us. Mostly behind us_. He nearly tripped over a volus, skipping to the side just in time. "Oh…sorry." He held out his hands, palms out.

"Not to worry…Earth clan." The volus waved him off with one hand, putting another on his belly. "It is a fine day…to be small!"

James tilted his head to the side as he continued waddling off.

"Indeed! Shall we rant about…that which we cannot…control?"

"Damn." He shook his head, continuing to the stairs. "The weirdest people ride public transport."

The stars overhead were obscured, tiny droplets of rain started tickling the streets, betrayed in the air by flashing neon lights along the sidewalks. He didn't chance a glance upward to let the water cool his face. He had no idea where any of the satellites in orbit were. He pulled up his omni-tool and whacked his wrist lightly as it flickered.

"Piece of shit." He stopped and drew under an awning to a divey-looking diner. A female salarian and geth, both in aprons, were hurriedly chaining chairs to tables underneath the worn, green canopy.

"Want to come in? Good food. Looks bad, though, I know." The salarian waved over her shoulder.

James grinned. "Maybe in a bit."

The geth nodded and opened the door for her before they both retreated inside.

He studied the map of where he would be going, staying out of main traffic junctions, away from bank windows…. He sighed and ran a hand over his face. It would take twice as long. _Might as well try out…_ He turned and glanced over the simple, painted sign above the door. "_Frohm's". Total dive. Perfect._

"James Vega?"

He kept his head down, powering off his omni-tool. Nope. No diner now. He'd have to sprint his way down alleys. He turned to start.

"Wait!"

He hesitated. He knew that voice. His head turned back to confirm what his ears had picked up.

"Thank the Goddess. I did not wish to put you into stasis in the middle of the street. It would look odd, would it not?"

He let out a loud laugh and held out his hand. "Haha! I'll be damned! Good to see you! Oh…" he frowned slightly. "You're not here to kill me are you?"

Samara smiled, shaking his hand. "It is just Samara now. The Justicars are no more."

"What a shame. I didn't mind that suit you had." He grinned, crossing his arms. Of course her tight, dark jeans didn't leave much to the imagination, but it didn't escape his notice that the deep V down the front was much shallower on her current leather jacket than it had been on her Justicar uniform.

"I will pretend you did not just say that. We should go inside." She rubbed her hands together, casting a glance over her shoulder. "It is not safe out here."

"Hell, I've got you. Who ain't it safe for?"

She quirked an eyebrow. "I am good, James, but I am not foolish."

His grin only grew. "Can we call it a date?"

"No."

"A half-date."

"No."

"Ah, you're breakin' my heart," he wailed, opening the door for her.

"Are you not the least bit interested on how I came to know where you were?"

"Not until I've got some food in me."

/

"Fuck off, Lincoln!" Detroit shoved his shoulder as he tried to help her out of her armor.

"We need to have a look at that," Garrus said, pulling up his omni-tool. "It'll only take a second."

"You too, Vakarain." She winced as she shifted against the side of the shuttle.

"Ay," Zaeed called toward the cockpit, limping forward. "Tali, you mind helping us out?" he asked as he made it to his destination.

She looked up and shrugged, switched positions with him.

"Vakarian! Lincoln! Up front with me," he barked, settling into the seat.

Tali smirked behind her mask. "You can drive this thing?"

Zaeed smiled, running his hand over the dash behind the holo displays. "You kidding me? Course I can. Now go help that stubborn arse back there."

Tali's arm brushed Garrus' as she made her way past the two. He looked down and grinned.

Detroit glanced to Tali quickly. "What makes you think I'll be less difficult for you?"

Zaeed's voice piped from the front. "Because you haven't told her to fuck off yet. It's a start. Now shut your yap and let her help."

Tali started unsnapping the chest plate, Detroit's breath hissing through her clenched teeth. "How do you think it went?"

"Hm." The young soldier managed a grin. "They thought there were fifty of us there…they'll think the diversion group in Scott is jetting off to the Terminus Systems…I'd say we duped them out of their pants. Of course, the big explosion might have just made me a little more happy and optimistic."

"That's what I like to hear!" Garrus raised a fist slightly, back still turned to them. "Big booms make the day good!"

Tossing the chest piece aside, Tali started on the arm plates. A few minutes passed, only the dull roar of the shuttle and clinking armor filling the space. "It was a pretty crazy plan," she said after the last arm pieces were on the floor.

"By the time they realize we took all our important data…" Detroit inhaled sharply as Tali started helping her out of her thermal shirt. "We'll be long fucking gone, and anyone in the Terminus won't have shit to report. They won't even know where to start. Double check mate, you stupid fuckers!" She laughed toward the wall. Her grin turned to a wince as her shirt was finally pulled off. She seemed to shrink back, eyes falling to the grated floor. Thick, familiar, but slightly different scars, ran up her torso and settled over her sternum. They were missing from her arms, but Tali was guessing the cybernetics at both elbows made up for that. Detroit squirmed away as Tali reached out to reassure her.

"You're going to have to be still for a moment," Tali said, resting her hand gently on her uninjured shoulder and pulling up her omni-tool. She ran her hand over the front of her shoulder, around to the back. "It missed your amp, and it was a through-and-through. It won't take much time at all to patch up, but Chakwas will need to look at it to get it completely fixed."

"Good," she breathed, still looking to the ground. "Hurry up."

Something in her tone made Tali not offer a joking reply.

"Please," Detroit added quietly, as if it were a begging afterthought.

The quarian nodded, typing on her omni-tool and extending it back to the injured shoulder.

Detroit's hand shot up and gently grabbed her wrist. Her words were barely audible as she spoke. "Thanks for coming back here."

Tali stared at her for a long moment before patting her cheek gently. "Stay still," she said, smiling, even though she couldn't see it. "Otherwise I will make you listen to Garrus talk about scope mods for the rest of the ride."

"What was that? I heard scope and mod." Garrus' head twitched upward, still not looking back.

"No you didn't!" Tali replied.

/

Shepard rolled over and reached to the empty half of a bed. She opened her eyes, confused, gripped the sheets in her hands lightly. She hadn't been dreaming the past few days, had she? Her sleep-blurred vision took in the room.

No.

She was on the Normandy.

She let out a deep sigh and sat up, rubbing at her eyes. "Edi?" she asked. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, forgetting she was an actual—

"Yes, Shepard?"

She jerked her head toward the ceiling. "How do you do that?!"

"Remember how I told you I was primarily in the ship and only partially in my body before?"

"Ah…" she squinted to the far wall. "Yeah. Something about…the drive core being like a heartbeat, too. Well, that was right after we screwed over the Illusive Man, but I remember."

There was a short pause. "I did not think you would remember something so trivial."

"It wasn't trivial." Shepard pulled herself out of bed and started dressing. "But why do you ask?"

"Oh, right. Because now, I am primarily in my body, but when I am touching the ship, there is always a part of my conscious that will be in it."

"Is it weird to leave?" Shepard pulled on her hoodie and smiled, hugging herself, relishing the soft fleece. "I mean, I remember you saying you felt blind when those guys with my clone hijacked the Normandy and shut you out."

"It was strange at first, but now I cannot imagine not functioning fully in this body."

"Can you still tell me where someone is?"

"Yes. Do you wish to find Liara? She is in the Broker Network room."

Shepard tapped at her chin. "Is Ash up?" She left the room and started down the hall.

"Yes. She is currently in the starboard lounge. Oh, while I am thinking of it, we should look into new couches for the port observation deck."

Shepard cocked an eyebrow as she left the room. "Why? What happened to the couch?"

"Ah…it is a long story. Actually, it is rather short. It involves Thirteen, Commander Williams, and several rogue Alliance men."

"Sounds like the start of one of your bad jokes." Shepard laughed as she made her way across a small section of the CIC to the elevator.

"It does, doesn't it? I should come up with a better punch line than 'and that is why the couch is ruined.' Oh my. That sounds far dirtier than I intended."

"Yeah…." Shepard sucked in a breath as she stepped into the elevator. "You should find a better punch line."

"I will. Is there anything else you needed?"

"How are the newest members doing?"

"They have settled into the crew quarters and extra quarters well. They are a good group."

The woman was sure she heard an affectionate smile in Edi's voice. "They sure as hell are. That's it for now, Edi."

"I am on the bridge, if you wish to speak in person. And Shepard?"

"Yeah?" The light above the door blinked and they slid open to the crew deck.

"It is good to have you back."

Shepard put her hand against the wall, smiling. "Good to be back, Edi."

"Logging you out."

She turned down the hall and padded gently along the floor to the metal door of the starboard observation lounge. It opened with an almost-silent _whoosh_.

Ashley looked up from the couch. She was hunched over the coffee table, the lights set to dim. Even in the low light, Shepard could see her eyes were bloodshot. There was an empty glass next to the data pad on the table. "Hey," she said. Fatigue was heavy in her voice.

Shepard made her way over and sank onto the couch next to her. "Just a guess…but the answers weren't at the bottom, were they?"

"Just…needed to take the edge off. I don't know how you did it, Skipper." She rubbed her eyes and left her fists pressing against her eyelids.

"Many…many…_many_ moments." Shepard reached over and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

Ashley let out a half-amused sound that was something between a sigh and a grunt. "I just remember after Thessia. You were a wreck…and nobody even knew."

"If Edi hadn't 'accidentally' overrode the lock…." Shepard looked up and raised an eyebrow, then shook her head.

"I'm not gonna' lie. It was a little…scary. Seeing you like that."

"Throw _one _model Destiny Ascension across the room, and suddenly you're stark raving mad." Shepard laughed. "I put it back together, if you recall!"

Ashley pulled her hands away from her face. "No. No, that I could handle. I probably would have preferred you throw a few more around instead."

_"Dammit!" Shepard's eyes darted around her cabin. She wanted to throw something. There. She stormed to her desk and picked up her medal, then promptly hurled it against the wall. It struck with a dishearteningly solid thud. Anger mushroomed in her chest and she yanked open one of the display cases. "Stupid…stupid…just…stupid everything!" She reached in and yanked out the Destiny Ascension. _

_ It had taken almost six hours of labor to put it together, back when she'd been chasing down the Collectors._

_ She coiled up and then lunged forward. She watched it hurdle into the wall and firework into thousands of tiny, intricate pieces. They clacked as they bounced off her desk to the floor. She felt a lump in her throat and she dropped to her hands and knees, started raking up the pieces as her eyes pricked with tears. She should have thrown the dreadnought, or the cruiser…not this one…not…._

_ "Uh…."_

_ She shot up, wiping roughly at her cheeks. "How long have you been there?"_

_ "Long enough to see that you've got a hell of a throw, Skipper."_

_ Shepard held out a hand, the pieces rolling together in her grip. She attempted a grin. "You should hear how this thing got assembled…me and my damn ship toys….." A sharp cry escaped her lips and she sank to the floor, pulling her hands over her face. She tried to stop the tears she knew were coming. The attempt failed miserably._

_ Ashley pulled further into the cabin and knelt next to her friend. "Shepard?"_

_ "I don't know, Ash. I don't know if I can," she sobbed, turning away. _

_ "Hey…." She didn't know what to do. She'd never seen her commander like this. Crying. Broken. She reached over tentatively and put an arm around her shoulders._

_ Shepard sucked in a ragged breath and leaned into her side._

_ Ashley, surprised her clumsy attempt at comforting had gone so well, took a moment before hugging her._

_ "I should have known."_

_ "Shut up, Shepard," Ashley replied, a little gruffer than she intended. "You're a human being. Let yourself have feelings other than…bad-assery and positive thinking and all this save-the-universe shit. You've been everyone's rock through this. Especially Liara's. Give yourself some breathing room."_

_ "But I—"_

_ "Shepard. Shut. Up. You don't have to be strong for me right now."_

_ Shepard remained curled under her arm, sobbing against her side for half an hour. Even after the deep, body-shaking cries had slowly morphed to weak sniffles, they sat together amidst the broken, scattered pieces of the model ship. "Ash?" Shepard's voice, raw, finally voiced a coherent thought._

_ "Yeah?"_

_ "The asari counselor is a bitch."_

_ Ashley couldn't contain the enormous laugh that bubbled straight from her core. She'd desperately needed a reason to laugh since the destruction they had witnessed on Thessia. She probably laughed harder than she should have. "Ma'am, yes ma'am."_

_ "Thanks," Shepard murmured, her swollen eyes beginning to droop._

_ "Ready to be Commander Kicking-Ass Optimist again?"_

_ "Maybe after a nap," she mumbled, already beginning to drift off._

_ Ashley let her fall asleep against her shoulder._

"You've done well, Commander Williams." Shepard let her hand slide back to her lap. "I'm proud of you."

Ashley shook her head slowly. "Shepard, I should apologize. I've said some…really nasty things the past few weeks. Wondered what the hell got into you, working with some of your crew from the Collector strikes."

"They're your crew now, too," Shepard said, leaning back. "They're good people."

"I know," she murmured. "You choose the weird ones, don't you?"

"The best kind of weird, though, right?"

Ashley sighed heavily. "You're not making this easier on me, Skipper."

"It's a gift." Shepard grinned.

"So I'm sorry. I've been a total bitch to Jack, Miranda, and Thirteen. I thought I'd gotten over my Cerberus…issues. Guess not."

Shepard was quiet as she straightened and clasped her hands together, put them under her chin. Her gaze traveled slowly to the door. "I'm not the one you should be saying this to, Ash."

She ran a hand over her face. "I know. I thought maybe I'd ease into the whole apology thing with you first."

Shepard grinned. "Thirteen would probably be the next best step. I'd save Jack for last."

"Yeah." Ashley let out a short laugh before remembering some of the venom she had directed at the younger soldier. "Oh God." Her head flopped to the coffee table, her torso nearly lying flat against her thighs.

Shepard bit back a laugh. "Williams?"

"It's pathetic." Her arm reached up and slid the data pad over, obviously an invitation for Shepard to pick it up.

Shepard leaned forward and grabbed it, started scanning over the words she had typed. "Crewmates and new crewmates?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Not out loud!" Ashley wailed.

" 'I have a few words I would like to share.' Well, not a bad start. 'I have been less than a CO should be over the past couple of weeks. I've doubted my crew and this group of fine young soldiers. I…shit fuck damn shit hell bastards I hate speech writing…duuuuh fffdghfsh.'" Shepard bit her lip and slid the data pad back onto the table. "Well…."

"Spit it out. Go on!"

"The last two words weren't horrendous. Did you slam your forehead on the keys or have Eezo help you out?"

Ashley let out a long moan and reached down to her side. She brought up a bottle of blue liquor and sat up, unscrewing the lid. "It was a stupid idea."

"I think it's a good one." Shepard reached over and expertly maneuvered the bottle from her hands without spilling it on them both.

"Shepard!"

She only smirked in response. "You know what I always think of when I think of you making speeches?"

"How much I wish I could shoot them in the face?"

Shepard's nose wrinkled slightly. "Speeches have faces?"

"I like to think they look like the blinky flashlight bastards."

She shook her head quickly. "Poetry. But I'll keep that in mind as a close second."

Ashley tapped at her chin.

"Seems like you always know a poem that says how you feel. And the poets put it a little more delicately than 'I hate speech writing duuuuh faggerdabbershish' or whatever it was."

"Mumbling shit didn't really work out for us with that MIRA bitch back in the old days on Noveria, did it? What did you say? Sic semper…terran flambmbfm…" her incomprehensible mumble melted into a cough.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time!"

The door whooshed open to Liara, her blue face somewhat pale.

"Liara? Everything alright?" Shepard stood and paced to her side.

"There is something you should have a look at," she replied quietly, reaching out and giving her arm a quick squeeze. Her eyes fell to the liquor still in Shepard's hand. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you catching up?"

"Ah take her," Ashley said, waving. She picked up the data pad with renewed purpose. "I was just getting back to work." She smiled. "Thanks, Skipper."

Shepard raised the bottle slightly before turning to follow Liara. "That light brigade poem."

"Yeah?"

She looked down to the gently sloshing liquid. "They like that one."

"I do too."

Shepard nodded and opened her mouth, then closed it again with a slight shrug and continued into the hall.

/

"You know," James said around a mouthful of deliciously greasy cheeseburger, "this place isn't half bad!"

The inside of the diner had proven to be just as run-down and homey on the inside as it was on the out. Pale bulbs over the tables spilled meagre, yellow light onto dark wood walls and the well-worn wooden floor. The silverware didn't match and the tables were stained from grease and spilled beer, but they had to give it credit. Of the odd dozen customers inside, several races were present. Turian, human, salarian, geth, asari. Even a volus sat at the bar, shouting drunkenly at the TV showing an old bioti-ball rerun.

Samara shook her head, rubbing at her temple. "James, really. We must address the matters at hand."

"And look at that! You downed that chicken sandwich before I…." He stopped and motioned to his burger.

"My sandwich was half the size of that. Will you listen?"

"I'm all ears." He waved his fingers, motioning her on. "So, what? In the neighborhood and came by for a friendly hello?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"Damn. Nobody ever comes to see old Vega just 'cuz they miss my pretty face."

"We were here, about to begin an investigation on a dirty N7 operative when I received the message from…." Samara shook her head slightly.

"Shepard," James whispered. He grinned. "Hell of a thing, ain't it?"

"That would be putting it mildly. We picked up chatter on a secure channel that had been…hacked. Somewhat illegally." Samara shifted in her seat, looking away. "It said you had gone missing from the base. I thought you would spend a few days in the forest outside the compounds."

"And here I was, thinking I was being sneaky."

"You are a little large for stealth, Lieutenant."

"Yeah, yeah. No need to be an asshole." He waved her off. "How'd you find me?"

"Finally you ask relevant questions. Sadly, this brings bad news."

"No shit," he scoffed, leaning back and crossing his arms. "Seems to be the only kind."

"Not true. We found you first. Our tech expert on the ship managed to identify you through a security vid feed from the store where you purchased your disposable omni-chip. After triangulation on the signal, Haran was able to scramble any other tracking software that could be used to find you. But they knew you made it to Illyria. Which is why it is not safe on the street."

"So we sneak back to your ship?"

"On the contrary."

James raised an eyebrow.

"You did wish to call this a date, did you not?"

"I kinda' got the vibe that you'd choke me out if I mentioned it again."

"Why would a runaway be seen taking an asari back to the port?" Samara tilted her head sideways. "He wouldn't. It is the perfect disguise."

"So it _is_ a date!" He slapped his hand down on the table. "Hell yeah!"

Samara sighed. "It is a mission that involves pretending that it was a date."

"Close enough! So where to after we lift off?"

"I received a message from Liara. After two groups of theirs rendezvous on the Normandy, they are headed to Gellix."

James wrinkled his nose. "What a shit-hole."

"On that we can agree."

/

_"Shit! Watch it! She's biotic!"_

_ "Grab her wrists!"_

_ Jack whirled, fists clenched. Blue cackled around her hands as she snarled. Her left arm swung out first, catching the first man in the chin. Two more took advantage of the arc of her swing and grabbed her free arm. "Get off, me you fucks!" She shouted, jamming her knee between the legs of a third who started forward. Someone grabbed her left elbow. She let out a savage roar and attempted to buck away. There was a prick at the side of her neck. The man she'd punched lurched forward again and she rammed her head against his. He reeled back with a broken nose. "Fuck! Fuck!" She twisted and writhed, but her biotics seemed to be failing her. It should have been easy, her against five stupid shits. But the stupid shits had drugs. Fucking cheaters. Fuck._

_ "We got you now, you pretty little—"_

_ "Jack."_

_ Jack turned her head. It wasn't one of the men who'd said that. It was a woman's voice. With an accent. Kind of sexy…_

_ Her head banged against a steel sink._

_ Sadistic laughing._

_ "Get off!" She screamed. "Don't touch me! Fuck! Don't fucking touch me!"_

_ "Dammit. Jack." The whisper again._

_ She tried to wrestle against the brute force, but blood was in her eye and it hurt like a—_

"Jennifer. Come on. Wake up."

Jack gave a quiet jolt, her eyes flying open. Blue flared around her fists and she jumped up, lips pulled from her teeth in a growl. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest.

"It's alright."

Her eyes slowly focused on the shadowy surroundings. They were in the cargo compartment of a shuttle. The blue light illuminated Grunt sitting with his head thrown back, mouth slack, breathing deeply and miraculously, not snoring. Kasumi was situated sideways in the seat next to him, her back nestled comfortably against his big arm, a rough blanket covering her. She let the biotics slowly fade and only the dim, orange glow spilling from the cockpit illuminated the large space along with the faint light from the external camera windows. She could make out the silhouettes of a geth and a turian in front. Pete and Edran. Right.

"Jack?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her fists against them. Her breath was shaky. "I'm good. I'm alright." She finally looked back and almost laughed. "Hey, Cheerleader. Nice sex hair."

Miranda frowned and ran her hands through her dark locks, ordering them back into some semblance of normal. "More like we've been asleep on a shuttle for three hours hair." She shook her head. "I'm being serious."

"I'm fine," she huffed, crossing her arms and glancing toward the back. Thirteen was on the floor, another blanket spread over her. They'd had to pop a familiar couple of ribs back into place and then wrap her torso. Her eyes moved under their lids, reliving their own hell. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

Miranda reached forward to touch her arm, but Jack recoiled.

"Don't…." Jack bit off the second half of her thought.

Pain flickered across Miranda's face and her fingers curled back into her palm slightly. "One of those," she murmured.

Jack took another step backward, her eyes narrowing. She'd never told her what happened in those dreams. Miranda didn't always manage to wake her up before…before. _Not going there, _she thought. "What the fuck's that supposed to mean?" she whispered fiercely.

"I'm not stupid. I know you. I know about the things that…." Miranda shook her head slightly, hair falling across her face. She reached up and pushed it from her vision, then looked back up to Jack, who couldn't meet her eyes.

"Then you don't have to fucking ask," Jack hissed.

"Jack, I…look at me."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"Please."

At length, Jack finally pulled her gaze back to the steely blue pair of eyes. Miranda stood up, careful to keep eye contact. She bit her lip and looked as if she were evaluating…something. Jack shifted her weight and her hands started fidgeting at her sides. _Damn woman always has to evaluate shit. Dammit! She looks so fucking adorable when she does. Shit! Stop it! You're pissed!_

"Can I touch you?"

The quiet words were almost a slap in the face. A frown of confusion flickered briefly across Jack's features. "Huh?"

"Can I touch you?" Miranda repeated patiently.

Jack grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Want to get it on in the shuttle half-full of sleeping crew mates?"

"No."

The tattooed woman dropped her crossed arms. "Then what the fuck for?"

It looked like her words really _had_ slapped Miranda across the face. She winced.

Jack resisted the urge to smack herself in the forehead. "Shit…I didn't mean it like that. I know you don't just…ah fuck. I'm gonna' stop while I'm behind."

Miranda reached up and scratched at her collarbone, glancing away. The closest thing she ever got to fidgeting. "Dammit, sometimes I wish you would just scream it all out at me like you used to so I can know what's going through your head."

"I would never fucking shout about getting pinned down by five…." Jack stopped and grimaced.

"I know." Miranda gave a strangled half-grunt of amusement. "I know you wouldn't. You mostly scream profanities and that if you can't go the speed limit, then you shouldn't be flying a car around in the first place."

"It's true," she mumbled. "I've got people to do and shit to see. I don't have fucking time to wait on Granny Slow-Tits."

Miranda covered her mouth to keep her laugh from waking the others. Her smile melted and she started to take a step forward, but stopped.

Jack turned and rubbed her forehead, unable to look at her. She could still feel the grimy, greedy hands on her. She shivered. "You already know. What's it matter?"

"Just because I know doesn't mean I don't want you to talk to me. I want to listen."

She couldn't turn back to the gentle words, the sharp blue eyes that held so much unexpected compassion.

"Jennifer." Her quiet voice barely reached Jack. "Can I touch you?"

Jack nodded once and Miranda was suddenly in front of her, tipping her chin up, fingers trailing slowly along her jaw line, over her ears, down her neck and across her shoulders. They delicately charted the map of scars down her arms before tracing back up and following the tattoo that wrapped around her head. Jack closed her eyes, letting the soft touches chase away the lingering claws of her nightmare. One of Miranda's hands came to rest on her face, her thumb gently stroking along her cheekbone.

"Damn," Jack muttered, managing a grin. "Looking at me like I'm a trophy or something."

"Trophy? No. But you are a treasure."

Jack sank into her arms and hugged her back tightly. She vaguely thought of teasing her for the sappy romanticism before she realized she hadn't minded. Not even a little. _Damn I'm getting soft._

/

"No."

Shepard frowned at Rio. The shuttles were due back in a few hours. She wanted some kind of plan other than flying off to Gellix and looking around willy-nilly for more information on Kooris Dolman. Even after a spike in population after The War, it was too small to be dropping in on whomever they pleased. "Rio, it's the only thing we've got."

"Shepard, that bitch is crazy." Rio crossed her arms. It hadn't taken her long to wake up after being pulled from the crew quarters. Shepard and Liara stood opposite of her in the port observation lounge, the lights set to dim. It was three AM on the time cycle. "I don't care who knew her when."

"But she is good," Liara said. "Her skills were enough to warrant her into the program."

"That's one loose end that should have been tied up." Rio shook her head. "There's a reason she was CAT6."

"Look, Miranda said at the meeting we wouldn't be asking to hold hands and skip around. She just might know something," Shepard tried.

"You expect me to play nice with a drug dealer?" Rio took a step back. "You know what they did to us!"

"It's the only reasonable course of action," Liara said smoothly. "You can only track covert drug shipments so far before you need firsthand information."

"You think she'll remember three years ago?" Rio laughed coldly. "Sure. We'll go and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. Want to know what we called her when she was still in the program? Before Eight replaced her unstable sentinel ass?"

Shepard wasn't really sure she did, but she shrugged. The least she could do was give Rio someone to yell at. She hated they had to go to a drug dealer. She _did_ remember the horrible, sweaty, painful, short-tempered withdrawals many of them had to go through.

"Duster. We called her Duster because of how much she liked…loved…that stupid fucking red sand. So why the hell not? Let's go find her. You won't get anywhere with it." Rio turned away finally, pacing to the window. "It figures someone like her would still be alive and Bronx…." She shook her head.

"Rio." Shepard pulled up next to her and went to put a hand on her shoulder, but she moved, pushing past her to the door.

"Don't expect me to go along."

Shepard stared at the door as it closed behind her. Liara slid an arm around her waist and leaned a head on her shoulder. "Can never make everyone happy, can we?" Shepard sighed, turning to hug her.

"No," she whispered. "But if you believe you are doing the right thing, then it's alright."

"We have to. There's gotta' be some good left in this kid if she made it out of the program…and she has to be _really_ good at what she does if she avoided Alliance and Cerberus looking to tie up loose ends."

"She is."

"What?" Shepard pulled away, quirking an eyebrow up.

"I didn't want to bring it up and anger Rio further. She is good, Shepard. The amount of people in the galaxy who believed the Reaper threat was real was very small. The Shadow Broker benefitted from intel she provided. Kasumi and Miranda both crossed paths with her."

"A drug dealer?!"

"Yes, but she is good at hiding things…or people…and getting information. In desperate times, you use whatever resources you can."

"Hm." Shepard nodded slowly. "That's why you and Kasumi were the only ones not questioning Miranda's sanity when she brought it up."

"It was always nice to know there were others who believed what you said about the Reapers. Even if they weren't completely…there. She didn't ask unnecessary questions. I'm sure they both appreciated that. I know I did. But Shepard…."

Shepard bit her lip, staring out the window to the stars. _Duster. Really? Nothing more original? Even Red would have been better than that. Sandy, maybe? That's halfway decent sounding._

"I won't say she isn't crazy."

"Psychotic biotic?" Shepard grinned. "We've handled one before. I say we can manage."

"Very true." Liara leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Shepard's eyes again fixed on the stars beyond the window. _Maybe I shouldn't tell this one being my enemy is unhealthy. My idea of a joke is never as funny to everyone else as I think it is…hm…maybe I should ask Edi for some new ones._


End file.
